The entire country should shoulder the financial burden, according to a Japanese panel of experts advising Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on a proposed rise in defence spending, and they strongly discouraged depending on government bonds to do so.
The recommendations were contained in a document that was made public on Tuesday as Kishida’s administration considered how to pay for his pledge to “substantially” increase defence spending in order to counter what Tokyo perceives as a growing security threat from China, which is just across the border.
If his administration decides to increase taxes to pay for it, he will have to decide whether to do so by raising company taxes or by asking the general public to pay more in the form of increased income taxes or other taxes