Newsfrom Japan
Sep 12, 2025 09:38 (JST)
Washington, Sept. 11 (Jiji Press)–Recent rises in long-term Japanese government bond yields emphasize “the need for fiscal prudence,” International Monetary Fund spokesperson Julie Kozack said Thursday.
The level of government debt in Japan is “quite high,” and is projected to reach 230 pct of the country’s gross domestic product in the IMF’s recent World Economic Outlook report, Kozack said at a press conference.
“All of this underscores the need for fiscal prudence in Japan,” she said. “There’s a need for a kind of thinking about a gradual fiscal consolidation over time” in Japan, she added.
Following an announcement earlier this month by Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba that he will step down, hopes grew that Japan’s next administration will draw up an expansionary fiscal policy. This has led to the yield on the most recent issue of 30-year JGBs hovering above 3 pct.
Kozack urged Japan to strengthen “the rules-based fiscal framework to enhance accountability and credibility in fiscal sustainability.”
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]