Japan Press Weekly

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2022 December 14 - 20 [POLITICS]

Kokuta criticizes PM Kishida's 'people should bear higher taxes' remark

Japanese Communist Party Diet Policy Commission Chair Kokuta Keiji, asked by reporters in the Diet building on December 14, criticized Prime Minister Kishida Fumio for imposing an undue responsibility on people to bear higher taxes for an anticipated major arms buildup.

PM Kishida at a Liberal Democratic Party executive meeting held on the previous day implied that people should accept tax hikes to fund military spending. He said, "The people living today should take responsibility in carrying the weight of that responsibility."

During the general election campaign in October last year and the Upper House election campaign in July this year, both the LDP and its coalition partner Komei Party did not indicate, in the slightest degree, the intent to levy heavier taxes to dramatically increase Japan's military power.

The Kishida Cabinet, in order to secure the necessary financial resources for the planned arms buildup which includes the possession of a counterforce attack capability, is planning to increase Japan's defense budget to about 43 trillion yen (2% of GDP) over the next five years and is also planning to raise taxes to come up with an extra one trillion yen per year. All tax options such as the income tax, corporate tax, sales tax, and tobacco tax, are on the table.

The Kishida government is citing the issuance of "government construction bonds" as an idea to secure enough money earmarked for the defense budget. Japan in the past raised funds for its war of aggression by issuing a huge amount of government bonds, leading to the collapse of the state finance sector and immiseration of many people's daily lives. Learning lessons from this experience, postwar Japan has prohibited the issuance of government bonds to finance military spending. The country has thus not issued government bonds for military purposes. Government construction bonds are not even allowed to cover the construction of facilities related to Japan's Self-Defense Forces.

Kokuta said, "Over five years at a cost of 43 trillion yen is indeed enormous. We are not being asked how to obtain the financial resources necessary for Japan's proposed military expansion. We are being asked, 'Is it really okay for us to accept a major arms buildup as the Kishida government seeks?' A boost in Japan's military strength does not protect the country. It means having to take part in U.S.-launched wars abroad. The JCP will inform the general public regarding this fundamental point."