Japan weighs extra taxes for defense spending as early as April 2026

introducing a new tax item linked to income

Increasing personal income taxes might not be the best move for a country that’s had zero or negative growth in inflation-adjusted real wages for 32 of the last 34 months!

Corporate tax and tobacco tax increases I don't have a problem with, but if they increase income tax they are cutting their own throats!

Of course this defense spending will all go to the US to pay for their weapons etc. Nothing helping the economy here or its people only enriching the military industrial complex and Trump's buddies!

This defense spending will help create American jobs and help American families. A good thing.

Japan and Japanese people really do not need you.

This defense spending will help create American jobs and help American families. A good thing.

Stop sending money to Ukraine...use that for Japan!

Increasing personal income taxes might not be the best move 

They'd had to do that - plus hike the consumption tax - to make up for a cut in the corporate tax a few years back. Corporates are raking in record high profits ever since, yet regular working people and families are the ones who must shoulder more of the financial burden. That's neo-liberalism for you.

We need our own Musk/vivek super duo to appear and make a Japanese version of DOGE. Retire a lot of unproductive people, streamline and update the bureaucracy to clinical level efficiency, get AI in the system to seek and destroy the mountains of money wastage and you will have your new defense funds in no time. Instead of doing none of that and just raising taxes!

Sorted.

Booooooooooooo

Gvt again in the wrong direction. Daily life is getting harder and instead of to help low and middle class and raise pension, to reduce burden of university, they spend money in unecessary such as military budget. Who will you defend with population shrinking each day?

Engage in diplomacy, no need for ever increasing defense budgets.

How about NO!!!

No need for the extra "defense" spending.

travel:

This defense spending will help create American jobs and help American families. A good thing.

You forgot about the American military industrial complex. You know, Lloyd Austin's dear Rayhteon, etc.

Stop paying for the US "protection" money and use this for your own!

Who’s the enemy here?

Oh, that big country on our left where we do much our manufacturing?

Naaa, not them.

The plan is also expected to encourage part-time employees to work longer hours, helping address labor shortages in the retail and other sectors.

Got it! Part time workers. That growing sector of workers that we tailored laws for so Big Corp could afford to ship manufacturing to that country on the left.

If Japan raises any taxes I will close my operation in Japan for certainty and move it to Thailand or Korea with the loss of 6 jobs.

Already the tax in Japan is too high and last year just 68% of my gross income went to the government in some form of tax. I will not pay any more.

"It is looking to begin a scheme to impose additional corporate tax and raise the tobacco tax in stages, both starting from April 2026, while also considering introducing a new tax item linked to income, starting January 2027, the sources said."

Geez, who didn't see THIS coming? Here's what they will do... Japan Tobacco will furiously oppose this, and the government will go back and forth and ultimately raise the cost of cigarettes a whopping 10 yen (while it's been increased more than $10 in most countries a DECADE ago or more), and they'll renege on the corporate tax increase, but will slap an increase on income tax without any hesitation whatsoever. Who's going to fight back against it that does not have vested interests in government? They can afford the grumbling and "shouganai" shoulder shrugs, especially since the elections never change anything (save maybe they have to team up with the opposition instead of going it alone... which ultimately ends up being the same thing). Meanwhile costs are also increasing, health care will go up, health care coverage down, and wages? Well, for the extra ¥200,000 or so we'll end up paying in taxes they may well increase the minimum wage to amount to an extra (taxable) ¥4000 a year.

And honestly, with all these tax increases and people not wanting to stay here and raise families because it's unfeasible, what's going to be left to defend? a 90% elderly population that will die off soon anyway?

Progressive taxing only, please - tax the wealthy and big corporations more, and raise taxes on tobacco and luxury goods. And give a tax break to those in the lowest income brackets. That would be much better for Japanese society...but the LDP doesn't really care about society so much.

While other nations are implementing policies to stimulate economic growth, such as tax cuts and business incentives, Japan appears to be doubling down on its debt-fueled model. By raising taxes to fund special interests, the government risks stifling business growth and delaying the nation's recovery. Citizens may have to continue enduring delayed prosperity and gaman just a little longer.

Japanese tax payers are forced to contribute to spend their hard earned money for American made weapons, to destabilize the continent and alter way more profitable relations and diplomacy with China, a natural partner in the continent. Tokyo is a hostage of this US warmongering administration. And then you wonder why Wall Street and Nasdaq in the USA are on all time high when the top arms manufacturers are all Americans. It does not make sense on economic level

The truth is Japan is spending less and less money buying US made arms and developing more and more domestic made arms. This trend has been going on for some time now. Most of Naval armaments are domestically made like the AShM, type 07 anti sub missiles, torpedos. Many of the AAM like the type 99 AAM-4,type 04 AAM-5.

The surface combatants are all Japanese made as well as the SSKs. Fighters planes are all licensed models which will change in the future. MBT has historically been all domestic as well as IFVs, APCs, Self-propelled artillery and so on.

Money well spent.

There's no military 'defense', just more Govt. take-over and look how well that's working out as $GDP per capita shrinks and deficits skyrocket with a population collapse.

Harsh reality, there are many weapons systems in Russia and elsewhere that make winning a war impossible.

Only viable military option = REAL OFFENSIVE MILITARY deterrence, should not be that expensive as does not require huge standing army. Mainly submarines and hypersonic missiles on ships, planes, drones, etc.

Time to get $SMART National Security for a change.

 extra taxes for defense spending

instead of raising people's salaries, and making daily goods cost, less?

great choice, Japanese gov't............

read between lines.

work more,pay more tax AGAIN and your money will go to US for US weapons shopping to support US gun production and US economy-Am I right?

Asiaman7 - well said

How about trimming government worker salaries first as a show of good faith? Get rid of free Shinkansen and hotels first politicians. Pump up taxes of corporations for not meeting certain requirements like worker rights and compensation? Higher fees for energy companies being caught in shady deals etc. the people who are already fairly poor despite being the 4/5th biggest economy should be the last thing on the list.

It seems like deciding the timing of this is basically a question of Ishiba deciding for how long he wants to be prime minister. This will be deeply unpopular both with corporations and the population as a whole and if he pursues it it will likely be the end of his term.

I don’t think increasing defense spending is necessary. Instead, I want to tax is used to improve people’s living standards. If taxes keep being raised relatedly, it will only make people’s lives harder.

C'mon Japanese people! Vote these clowns out of office!

A mighty little porcupine with many sharp quills.

Additional defence spending will be great for the RS of the USA economy.

My tarot cards predict an even bigger baby boom when such measures with lower income and higher taxes are really implemented soon. Maybe I should use another card deck. lol

Japanese taxpayers should ask the government how many times Japan has been involved in armed conflict since 1945.

Another thing is that in the event of a conflict between the US and China, Japan will be the front line where "democracy will be defended."

The reality of being a vassal state. Your master says "Spend more on my weapons" and don't kid yourself where this money is going.. Japan says Yes!

Defense budget is doubling to what it should have been all along. No better quality than from the US, either.

The American investors are exploiting once again the Japanese taxpayers for uneconomical and unnecessary weapons, hence this anti China hysteria.

We ask the Tokyo government to stop this immoral practice to enrich the American arms industry, and spend the money to fund more important social issues in Japan

Spend money to prevent being occupied, or spend money as tribute to the occupier. Choose one.

Higher Japanese corporate tax rates coming

Lower US corporate tax rates coming, or at least they won’t go up

Where do we think Japanese investors will be investing their capital from here, and what does it mean for the value of the yen, local inflation, and therefore defense costs?

The Japanese voters have really got to get with the program and figure it out that their government is doing it all wrong

Let us not forget that Japan is one of the largest contributors to the cost of hosting U.S. military forces through the Host Nation Support (HNS) agreement. Under this arrangement, Japan contributes funds to cover a portion of the expenses of maintaining US bases on Japanese soil, including infrastructure, utilities, and other operational expenses.

Money which could go to young families in Japan, nursing cares for elderly and low income earners. Instead goes to the top weapons manufacturers in the world, all American.

No surprises the Nasdaq index rose to new records on the 11th of December

FosDec. 12 11:24 pm JST

Money which could go to young families in Japan, nursing cares for elderly and low income earners. Instead goes to the top weapons manufacturers in the world, all American.

Yes if Japan wants to be completely negligent about its national security. All signs are it doesn't.

No surprises the Nasdaq index rose to new records on the 11th of December

Not due to a boost in the 1% of gdp not on the nasdaq.

Recent Japanese LDP government and financial ministry record largest ever tax revenue by increasing burden to general citizen, avariciously, they plot to more increase its burden.

Japanese general citizen who already facing serious poverty cannot endure more "increasing taxation".

Japanese household where cannot give enough food to children increasing, domestic private food-aid places for children were beyond 10 thousands now.

Japan where goes to larger military power despite starving citizen is like North Korea.

When income tax was low and there was no consumption tax, Japan was booming. Now that increased prices and consumption tax put many everyday items out of reach and the government takes a whopping share of the money you earn, there is no incentive and Japan is in a slump.

RayTheon and Lockheed are happy to hear this. Japanese taxpayers, not so much.

The US administration is trying to advance its "Indo-Pacific" strategy to contain China, fanning the flames in the Korean Peninsula, Taiwan Straits and South China Sea.

The only military risk that we face from China is if we continue as a proxy for the US in its endless war

Wall Street is on all time despite the geopolitical instability, and so are the profits of the top 5 arms manufactures, all Americans, controlled by the main hedge funds (Blackrock, Vanguard, Fidelity, you name it) 

Lockheed Martin Corp

Raytheon Technologies

Northrop Grumman Corp

Boeing

General Dynamics Corp