Japan may be able to restore its public finances in fiscal 2026, a year earlier than the previous estimate made in July, with tax revenue expected to increase as businesses recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the government said Friday.
The nation's primary balance — tax revenue minus expenses other than debt-servicing costs — is expected to turn black in the year through March 2027 with a surplus of about ¥200 billion ($1.8 billion) under the most optimistic scenario, the Cabinet Office said in its biannual projection.
According to the latest projection, the world's third-largest economy would still miss its goal of achieving fiscal consolidation in fiscal 2025, which was delayed in 2018 by five years from fiscal 2020 under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration.