TOKYO :Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Tuesday there was no change to the government's goal of balancing the primary budget for fiscal 2025.
Suzuki made the remark after media reported on Monday that the government had dropped reference to the target year in a mid-year long-term economic policy draft. "Public finances are the cornerstone of a country's confidence," Suzuki told reporters after a cabinet meeting. "It's important to proceed with economic and fiscal policies to aim for a primary budget surplus and stably lowering debt-to-GDP ratio in order to achieve fiscal reform in the medium to long term," Suzuki said.
In January, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's top economic advisory council affirmed the current situation did not demand a change in the fiscal 2025 target year for achieving a primary budget surplus.