Meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy

On April 10, 2025, Prime Minister Ishiba held the fourth meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy in 2025 at the Prime Minister’s Office.

At the meeting, the participants engaged in discussions on economic and fiscal management in response to U.S. tariff measures as well as reconciliation between economic revitalization and restoration of fiscal health.

Following the discussion, the Prime Minister said:

“Today, we held discussions on economic and fiscal management in response to U.S. tariff measures as well as reconciliation between economic revitalization and restoration of fiscal health.

It is extremely regrettable that, in spite of the fact that Japan has repeatedly expressed its concerns regarding the introduction of measures, starting on the 9th local time, the U.S. government imposed reciprocal tariffs, although it then announced a 90-day pause on some of them. In order to make government-wide efforts in response, we have recently established the Comprehensive Response Headquarters for U.S. Tariff Measures. The Government has already announced that it would take necessary measures, including financing support programs, given the impact of the tariff measures on domestic industries, and it will continue to ensure the provision of all essential support.

With a view to taking the best possible measures in an emergency of this kind, it is important to clearly present the direction of a consistent economic and fiscal policy that always takes a long-term standpoint into consideration, including the stable reduction of the public debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio in normal times, thereby ensuring market confidence in Japan’s economic and financial conditions.

To this end, under the framework of the Economic and Fiscal Plan for New Stage and based on the understanding that ‘a sound economy is the foundation of fiscal health,’ we will move forward in our efforts to reconcile between economic revitalization and restoration of fiscal health by continuing policy management focused on improving the potential growth rate and reforms of both our expenditures and revenues throughout the target period.

In light of today’s discussions, I ask you to advance further deliberations so that we can present our efforts to achieve fiscal soundness going forward, including the early realization of a primary balance surplus, in a Big-Boned Policy (Basic Policy on Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform) to be formulated in around June this year.

We will also conduct a cross-ministerial review of unit prices and other matters related to public systems in the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, operating from the perspectives of whether they remain unchanged since the deflation era and whether there are any revisions we should make having entered an inflation era, and reflect the outcomes in future budgets.

Based on the idea that ‘a sound economy is the foundation of fiscal health,’ we will keep the medium- to long-term sustainability of our economy, finances, and social security in mind, conduct a thorough analysis of current economic trends, and take necessary policy responses in an appropriate manner, thereby creating a crisis-resilient economic and financial system that will achieve robust growth.”