Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba rebuffed calls for tax cuts, saying that the nation’s financial conditions are worse than Greece’s.
The premier said he disagrees with the idea of funding tax cuts with Japanese government bonds, signaling caution over additional government spending when the nation’s borrowing costs are rising.
"It is important to recognize the dangers of a society and a world with interest rates,” Ishiba said in parliament on Monday, indirectly referring to the Bank of Japan (BOJ)’s continued moves to raise interest rates since it abandoned its negative rates policy last year. "The government is not in a position to comment on interest rates, but the reality is we’re facing a world with them. Our country’s fiscal situation is undoubtedly extremely poor, worse than Greece’s.”
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