Kishida អំពាវនាវ​ឲ្យ​ដំឡើង​ពន្ធ​ខ្ពស់​ដើម្បី​ពង្រឹង​វិស័យ​ការពារ​របស់​ជប៉ុន

 Prime minister rules out bond issuance to accommodate larger budget

TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a plea for higher taxes to strengthen the nation's defenses at a news conference on Saturday, saying Japan faces greater uncertainty over its security, given rising geopolitical tensions in Asia.

"To protect our peaceful lives and fulfill [our] responsibility to future generations, I would like to ask for the cooperation of the Japanese people," Kishida said at a news conference following the conclusion of the 69-day extraordinary parliamentary session.

The session was held to pass a major economic spending program designed to shield the economy from a global economic slowdown, and another bill aimed at offering support to victims of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church.

But the deliberations have been overshadowed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and mounting tensions over Taiwan. The Kishida government is drawing up a new defense framework aimed at strengthening Japan's defense capabilities and doubling the level of defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product.

Kishida ruled out issuing new debt to pay for the defense spending increase. "Funding has been identified for three quarters of the expected increase in defense spending, through the reallocation of the budget, and use of reserve funds and nontax government income," Kishida said. But he added: "I have to ask for the cooperation of the Japanese people for the remaining quarter" of the funding needs.

He said that he will be flexible about the timing of the tax increase, and has ruled out a higher levy for the next fiscal year starting in April 2023. Funding defense spending with debt "is unthinkable," Kishida said, arguing that to do so would be to forfeit Japan's responsibility to future generations.

The news conference comes as Japan prepares to assume the rotating chairmanship of the Group of Seven next month. The grouping of the world's big Western industrial economies is set to hold a summit in Hiroshima in May.

"At the summit, the G-7 leaders will demonstrate their strong resolve to reject strongly military invasions, nuclear intimidation or any attempt to overturn the international order," Kishida said in an apparent rebuke of Russian President Vladimir Putin alluding to possible use of nuclear weapons.

Kishida noted that there has been an increase in exports of used Japanese vehicles to Russia, but stressed that there is no evidence that these have helped Russia's war effort. If such evidence comes to light, Japan will take targeted steps to block such exports, he said.

Kishida met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bangkok in November in his first face-to-face meeting with the Chinese leader. He said he has no plans scheduled to visit China for a summit.

"Japan will maintain communications with China at all levels, including at the leaders' level. We will say what needs to be said, ask China for responsible behavior and collaborate where necessary to deal with common challenges," he said.

Nikkei Asia,