The Japanese and U.S. defense chiefs agreed in Tokyo on Monday to accelerate working group talks to establish cooperative ties between proposed commands for the two allies’ forces at an early date. Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also affirmed cooperation in effectively managing counterattack capabilities of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. forces in the East Asian country, strengthening the defense system on the Nansei Islands, southwestern Japan, and promoting joint exercises. Kihara and Austin had their talks at the Defense Ministry after Japan and the United States held a “two-plus-two” meeting of their foreign and defense heads in the Japanese capital on Sunday. At the meeting, the U.S. side said the U.S. Forces Japan will be upgraded to a joint forces headquarters for better communication with the SDF’s joint operations command to be set up next spring. Austin told Kihara that Washington is discussing to what extent the headquarters will be empowered.
The Japanese government said Monday that it expects to achieve about 800 billion yen in primary budget surplus for the central and local governments in fiscal 2025, which starts next April.
Tax revenue is expected to increase thanks to robust corporate earnings while expenditure growth is likely to slow after years of massive stimulus spending, the central government said in an estimate put forward at a meeting of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy.
“We will continue our efforts to reduce spending and promote reforms,” Kishida said.
The primary balance is an indicator of how much government spending on policies such as social security and public works can be covered by tax revenue and other means without relying on debt.
If the government achieves a primary budget surplus, it will be the first time since it set a goal of this under then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in the early 2000s.
-
The English version of the website has been released.
-
The Japanese and U.S. defense chiefs agreed in Tokyo on Monday to accelerate working group talks to establish cooperative ties between proposed commands for the two allies’ forces at an early date. Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also affirmed cooperation in effectively managing counterattack capabilities of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. forces in the East Asian country, strengthening the defense system on the Nansei Islands, southwestern Japan, and promoting joint exercises. Kihara and Austin had their talks at the Defense Ministry after Japan and the United States held a “two-plus-two” meeting of their foreign and defense heads in the Japanese capital on Sunday. At the meeting, the U.S. side said the U.S. Forces Japan will be upgraded to a joint forces headquarters for better communication with the SDF’s joint operations command to be set up next spring. Austin told Kihara that Washington is discussing to what extent the headquarters will be empowered.
-
Sharp Customer Information Compromised in Breach
