Tag - budgets

 
 

BUDGETS

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a policy meeting on Friday.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2023
Japan cuts spending for first time in 12 years in fiscal 2024 budget
The budget for the coming fiscal year that starts in April is estimated at ¥112.07 trillion, down 2% from the current year's initial amount.
Medical fees will be lowered by 0.12% in fiscal 2024, marking the fifth consecutive reduction in the fees that are reviewed every two years.
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2023
Japan fees for medical services and drugs to be lowered by 0.12%
The government will raise its official fees for nursing and disability welfare services by 1.59% and 1.12%, respectively, in fiscal 2024.
A Tomahawk cruise missile is launched from a U.S. Navy ship. Japan agreed with the United States to buy U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missiles one year earlier than previously planned.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2023
Japanese government delaying debate over key defense issues
A widening political scandal is affecting the Kishida administration's ability to move forward on important security discussions.
Soldiers from the Ground Self-Defense Force's Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade take part in a marine landing drill as a part of the country's nationwide 05JX military exercises on Tokunoshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture on Nov. 19.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 16, 2023
Japan eyes record ¥7.7 trillion defense budget for fiscal 2024
Work to compile the budget is continuing without a decision on the timing of tax hikes to fund a substantial increased in defense spending.
Construction work is conducted in the Henoko coastal area in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, on Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2023
Okinawa promotion spending to fall to ¥267.8 billion in fiscal 2024
The outlay would stand below ¥300 billion for the third successive year, according to a government estimate.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a government meeting on child policies on Monday.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2023
Japan to boost spending on measures to tackle low birthrate
The government will make official a program that will have nursery schools accept children even if both parents do not work, among other measures.
Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers on Tokunoshima island, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Nov. 19. The government plans to secure over ¥1 trillion in fresh defense outlays by raising corporate, tobacco and income taxes in stages, but it has yet to decide when to start increasing the taxes.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 11, 2023
Japan unlikely to hike taxes for defense boost in '25: LDP official
The decision on when to hike taxes will be delayed into 2024 amid an unfolding fundraising scandal involving many LDP factions and senior lawmakers.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency booth at the International Space Industry Exhibition in Tokyo in February
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2023
Japan to create ¥1 trillion fund to develop outer space industry
The ¥1 trillion fund will be allocated over a 10-year period for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), as a new global space race heats up.
The construction site of a new Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. factory in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 9, 2023
Japan set to earmark ¥2 trillion for chips in extra budget
Japan is in the midst of a spending spree to revive its chip industry with an aim to triple the sales of domestically produced semiconductors by 2030.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is saluted by Maritime Self-Defense Force members during the International Fleet Review to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the MSDF, at Sagami Bay, off Yokosuka, on Nov. 6, 2022.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 3, 2023
Weak yen forces Japan to cut back on historic military spending
Officials and industry sources said Japan will begin cutting back on aircraft purchases in 2024, the second year of the buildup plan, due to the weak yen.
Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force disembark from a CH-47 Chinook helicopter during a live fire exercise in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in May 2022.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 23, 2023
Kishida's proposed tax cuts put higher defense spending on hold
The plan to raise defense spending partly through tax hikes has been put on ice. In fact, it was never likely to deliver fast results.
Ayuko Kato, minister in charge of child policies, talks to children in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 17, 2023
Japan resumes babysitter discount coupon program amid high demand
The babysitter coupon system was implemented in 2016 as part of the government’s efforts to offer financial aid to working families with children.
The U.K.'s decision to cut back on its HS2 high-speed rail network runs contrary to the path taken by Japan, which stuck to a long-term infrastructure plan.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2023
U.K. effort to imitate Japan's shinkansen falls short
There is value of sticking to a long-term infrastructure plan, as Japan has done for almost 50 years with its high-speed rail system.
Ayuko Kato, minister in charge of child policies, speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 4, 2023
Children's agency chief Ayuko Kato vows to tackle falling birthrate
One of the aims of the agency is to help implement the Children's Future Strategy, a plan that was announced as a way to reverse the declining birthrate.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a government panel meeting on measures to tackle Japan's declining birthrate on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 3, 2023
Debate begins on funds to tackle Japan's low birthrate
The prime minister has instructed relevant ministers to draw up a road map for securing necessary funds by reducing social security spending.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is accompanied by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in the Old Senate Chamber, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Sept. 21.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 1, 2023
Ukraine aid falls by wayside as Congress passes spending bill
The Biden administration and lawmakers from both parties sought to reassure Ukraine that assistance may be supplied in a separate bill down the road.
U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 1, 2023
Last-gasp deal averts U.S. government shutdown
The U.S. Congress passed an 11th-hour funding bill Saturday to keep federal agencies running for another 45 days.
U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, speaks to members of the media at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 30, 2023
GOP rejects own funding bill; U.S. government shutdown imminent
In a 232-198 vote, the House defeated a measure that would extend government funding by 30 days and avert a shutdown.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a news conference in New York on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 21, 2023
Kishida to outline economic support measures next week
Speaking in New York, Kishida warned that Japan’s economic situation remains unstable.
Increased spending on defense and social security pushed up total budget requests for fiscal 2024 to a new record.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2023
Japan's budget requests for fiscal '24 hit record ¥114.39 trillion
The amount surpassed the ¥111.66 trillion sought for fiscal 2022 — previously the largest on record.

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on