Tag - budgets

 
Menu
Search
 
July 02, 2026
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

BUDGETS

Ground Self-Defense Force troops take part in an annual New Year's military drill at Narashino exercise field in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, on Jan. 11.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 5, 2026
Pentagon No. 3 says Japan knows about need to hike defense budgets ‘better than anybody’
The remarks, just over two weeks before Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, hint that a spending hike will likely be discussed.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a news conference at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo on Feb. 18. Takaichi has repeatedly stressed her focus on boosting investment in growth, especially in technologies vital to Japan’s food, energy and economic security.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 3, 2026
Takaichi takes aim at Japan’s supplementary budgets
The prime minister wants to push as much spending as possible into the initial budget.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi responds to questions from Centrist Reform Alliance leader Junya Ogawa (left) at a Lower House Budget Committee session on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 1, 2026
Government and ruling bloc adamant about passing budget before fiscal 2026
The ruling bloc of the LDP and the Japan Innovation Party is aiming to pass the draft budget through the Lower House on March 13.
Ghost Robotics Vision 60 takes part in an annual New Year's military drill by the Ground Self-Defense Force's 1st Airborne Brigade at Narashino exercise field in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, on Jan. 11.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 22, 2026
With fresh mandate, Japan’s Takaichi sets sights on divisive security goals
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s election victory has empowered her to push forward with security and defense goals that, just a decade ago, would have been all but unattainable.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is applauded after being reelected as prime minister in the Lower House on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 18, 2026
Takaichi heads into parliament with key agenda points in mind
Passing the budget, setting up an intelligence agency, and cutting the consumption tax are all top priorities for Sanae Takaichi, who was reelected as prime minister.
A mine strike is simulated during a military exercise outside a naval base in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Jan. 29.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 17, 2026
Taiwan parliament to tackle defense spending review from Monday
The move comes amid pressure from a bipartisan group ⁠of U.S. lawmakers that has expressed concern about parliament stalling the proposed defense ​spending bill.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a Cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 14, 2026
Takaichi still wants budget to pass parliament before fiscal 2026
In order to speed up deliberations, the Liberal Democratic Party may shorten the time for questions from lawmakers in the ruling coalition.
A soldier speaks to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te in Hsinchu, Taiwan, last July.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 11, 2026
Taiwan says defense budget delay jeopardizes collective deterrence against China
Officials in Taipei say a failure to pass the government’s nearly $40 billion defense budget would “seriously weaken” the island’s defense buildup.
Attendees examine Raytheon missiles during the Association of the United States Army annual meeting and exposition at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington in October 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 7, 2026
Trump orders prioritizing countries with higher defense spending as customers for U.S. weapons
The executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump ​establishing the “America First Arms Transfer Strategy” marks a significant shift ‍in ⁠U.S. arms sales policy.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te speaks at a news conference in Taipei on Tuesday. A counterproposal that would slash Lai's eight-year, special defense budget request by almost 70% has raised concerns with the Defense Ministry and prompted dismay in Washington.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 4, 2026
Taiwan military capabilities in jeopardy as defense budget row deepens
The dispute over a bill that would slash by 70% a DPP-backed defense spending request has prompted unease in both Taipei and Washington.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to the media on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 7.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 25, 2026
U.S. defense strategy downplays China threat and says it will limit support for allies
The document, which guides the Pentagon’s policies, is expected to rattle nervous U.S. allies in Asia, including Japan.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te visits a military camp in Taoyuan, Taiwan, in May 2024.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 22, 2026
With chips, investments and defense hikes Taiwan aims to appease Trump. Will it work?
The democratic island’s attempts to accommodate the White House’s priorities are critical for shoring up Taipei’s crucial relationship with the U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington on Tuesday, the one-year mark into his second term in office.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 21, 2026
Japan finds itself in a precarious position, one year into ‘Trump 2.0’
Unlike during his first White House stint from 2017-2021, Donald Trump’s second term in the Oval Office has seen him free to make demands of the alliance and the world at large.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama holds a news conference after the Cabinet approved the draft budget for fiscal 2026 in December.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 20, 2026
Japan Lower House dissolution to delay budget passage
The government is unlikely to secure the passage of its fiscal 2026 draft budget by March 31, the end of this fiscal year.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks in a news conference Monday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 19, 2026
Takaichi might surprise markets bracing for a big spender
Some stock and bond investors are anticipating Takaichi to act as an unrestrained fiscal dove after the election.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reacts as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks, aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier during a visit to the U.S. Navy's base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Oct. 28.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 8, 2026
Trump looms large over host of diplomatic challenges facing Japan in 2026
Japan is especially concerned that the U.S. president could try to seal a deal with China that divides the region just as relations between Beijing and Tokyo plummet to fresh lows.
A Japanese flag flutters near the National Diet Building in Tokyo on Oct. 21.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jan 4, 2026
Japan policy wonks consumed by debate over how to measure fiscal woes
Ignoring the primary budget balance just obscures the problem, one side argues.
For fiscal 2026, the government plans to lower drug fees by 0.87% but raise medical service fees by 3.09%, the first increase above 3% in 30 years.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 27, 2025
Efforts to reduce burden on Japan’s working generation still limited
The budget bill allocates a record ¥39.06 trillion for social security-related expenses, up ¥760 billion from fiscal 2025, reflecting a rise in medical and nursing care costs.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Dec. 17.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 27, 2025
Japan set to see first primary balance surplus in 28 years in 2026
Securing a primary balance surplus has been a government goal for more than two decades.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sits (center) with ministers ahead of a Cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 26, 2025
Takaichi’s Cabinet proposes record spending in next fiscal year
The budget will go to parliament for approval when it convenes again early next year.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

New Logistics Consortium baton to accelerate trucking efficiency
New Logistics Consortium baton to accelerate trucking efficiency

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER