TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s government is expected to fund part of its spending for childcare measures by issuing additional bonds over a period of roughly two years, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The plan will be included in the government’s long-term economic platform to be issued in June, the Yomiuri reported, citing several government sources.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has announced a plan to double the amount of childcare support over the next three years. On the question of financing the major portion of the spending package, Kishida has ruled out the possibility of tax hikes, leaving debt issuance as one of the leading options of funding.
The latest plan, following another big programme to double national military spending, would strain Japan’s already dire public debt, which is over twice the size of annual economic output.
Under the proposed financing scheme, domestic media reported earlier, the government would expand the size of the funds gradually over the three years from fiscal 2024/25 and secure the necessary amount by the end of the policy period.
The Yomiuri report did not say how much debt will be issued to fund the spending.
Some ruling party lawmakers have floated the idea of issuing extra bonds, with the rationale that education-purposed bonds should help future generations, as the government struggles to come up with permanent sources of revenue.
(Reporting by Leika Kihara and Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Tom Hogue and Shri Navaratnam)