Japan Govt Advised to Achieve Primary Budget Surplus in FY '25-'26

   Tokyo, May 27 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese government advisory panel on Tuesday recommended that the country's target period for achieving a primary budget surplus be extended to fiscal 2025-2026 from the currently stated fiscal 2025, which began last month.
   In its proposal for the government's upcoming economic and fiscal policy guidelines, the Fiscal System Council, which advises the finance minister, pointed out that the outlook for Japan's finances, which are among the worst in the industrialized world, has become increasingly uncertain in the face of the high tariff policy of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
   With the recommendation, the government's efforts toward securing a primary budget surplus will effectively be set back. The primary budget balance is an indicator of how much government spending on policies such as social security and public works is financed by tax and other revenues without relying on debt.
   The proposal says that Japan should aim to turn the primary budget balance at the central and local governments combined into a surplus as soon as possible between fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026, pushing back the target timing from fiscal 2025 as set out in the government's economic and fiscal policy guidelines adopted last year.
   The government needs to lower the ratio of its outstanding debts to the country's gross domestic product by around 30 percentage points over 10 years, the council said, calling for the ratio to be brought back to pre-pandemic levels by fiscal 2030.

(2025/05/27-16:36)

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