Japan floats issuance of gov't bonds for more defense spending

15% of the population 75 or over, 60% of the workforce on low paying contracts, Plummeting birth rate. What is there to tax further. Tobacco sure but that’s a dying habit. Really need a better plan than buying weapons while increasing poverty and debt.

The writing is on the wall. Raise corporate taxes and corporations in turn suppress wage increases. Consumers have less disposable income and economy stagnates. People vote LDP again and wonder why things don't improve.

when money is tight just lend money to yourself LOL! seems like a great plan

What is there to tax further.

Wealth. Japan already has effectively the highest level of wealth tax in the developed world, but that’s where they will go for more.

They already cut the exemption amounts for inheritance tax several years back.

For foreigners with overseas assets, the plunge of the yen is going to push up the amount of tax revenues too, to the extent that taxes due are paid.

I don’t expect that this will yield anywhere enough tax revenues to cover the out of control spending, however.

Printing money, government debt, what else?

If we spend all the pension money on buying expensive American weapons, then we have no need to pay billions for American bases. It’s a Catch 22 though. If you don’t have USA bases we will be sanctioned. If we buy USA weapons China and Russia and NK will be angry. If we waste all our money and get further into serious debt, we have use the weapons.

The government will discuss how much the country's defense spending should increase and how to fund it. Raising the corporate or tobacco tax is expected to meet opposition from the business community.

LDP: We'll raise it on the public then through hikes in sales and income taxes then.

Their opposition means nothing.

Ex: The Olympics, state funerals etc...

The writing is on the wall. Raise corporate taxes and corporations in turn suppress wage increases.

Abenomics slashing corporate taxes; wages still did not increase. The LDP stays in power.

Same difference.

Might as well soak the asset bloated japan Inc. corporates for a change.

The Japanese government is like a mouse running on one of those wheel things, sprinting and sprinting but getting nowhere.

Meanwhile, China with an economy more than three times the size of Japan will just increase their military spending by three times more than Japan does.

Japan will then match it, and China increase their's again. The mouse will still be in the same place and we will all be worse off.

Japan is a country that can “print” its own currency as much as it wants so the government will never run out of money.

Indeed.

But how much is Monopoly money worth.

So there's the smoking gun! If you want to get tax money tax what everyone practically does, smoke. The US did the same thing they taxed the heck out of the tobacco industry. The cost of a package of cigarettes got soo expensive it drove people to quitting cold turkey. On the other hand what did the tobacco industry do, shift their productions to countries that do smoke to offset the losses.

Raising the corporate or tobacco tax is expected to meet opposition from the business community.

Japan’s debt is a large weight around its neck.

The yen is becoming worthless!

The LDP always uses the smokescreen of a commission or some sort of review committee. The decision has already been made. The security review will simply offer justification for the 2% spending.

More bonds? This country is doomed.

Autocratic LDP government ignores many lessons from prewar or wartime one after another.

Japan is a country that can “print” its own currency as much as it wants so the government will never run out of money. Government debts need not to repaid because the BOJ can always buy back bonds it issued. There’s absolutely no need at all to raise taxes by issuing special bonds.

Let's weaken the yen more and blame it on foreign funds shorting the yen

For those who shouted the higher defense budget would mean a cut in social spending, you were wrong again.

The defense boost is needed, plain and simple. Until China, Russia and North Korea have an epiphany and return to non confrontational politics and stop increasing their own defense spending, then Japan must be prepared for the threat of war surrounding it.

It is too late to do much when conflict starts. Things happen fast. Building ships takes years, and other equipment months for each fighter or tank manufactured domestically. Sufficient protected munition reserves for high tempo conflict must be on hand in different locations throughout the country. Well trained forces must be maintained in sufficient numbers to defend your territory, and an ability to take the conflict to your enemy rather than only fighting in your own, which only threatens your own citizens and infrastructure.

One need only look at the situation in Ukraine where high intensity war has been thrust upon Ukraine, who has little ability to take the war to Russia, so it is Ukraine cities destroyed, Ukraine citizens tortured and murdered and bombed. Japan must not allow itself to become a Ukraine. Putting the cost of war on your enemy is a key to victory.

War is expensive. But freedom and survival is worth every yen. What value do you place on the freedom and safety of your children? Taxing tobacco is a small price to pay and Japan still has many smokers.