The government on Friday unveiled an outline of its midterm economic roadmap that featured Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's "new capitalism" policy priorities such as efforts to stem a declining birthrate with increases in child care spending.
The outline, which will serve as a backbone for the government's economic policy to be finalized in June, made no mention of how to fund such spending — a sticking point before a snap poll Kishida may call in the coming months.
The draft policy outline — the barebones of a wishlist on a single sheet of paper — also focused on economic security, urging private-public sector joint investment to strengthen supply chains and investment in products including chips amid trade frictions between the United States and China.