Economic Concerns in Japan: Will Rice Coupons Be an Effective Solution?
A new survey published by Kyodo News Agency shows that more than 60 percent of the public in Japan is concerned about the country’s financial and economic situation. Meanwhile, Sanae Takaichi’s controversial remarks regarding the Taiwanese government, which have negatively affected relations with China, have added to the cause.
Kyodo News reported that 64.6 percent of respondents in the survey expressed increasing concern about the country’s financial health and economic situation after the approval of the 18.3 trillion yen ($116 billion) “supplementary budget” for the current fiscal year (2025) that ends in March 2026.
The report indicates that the Takaichi government plans to issue 11.7 trillion yen in new bonds to finance more than 60 percent of the total budget.
Another area of economic concern for the Japanese people is how the Takaichi government will deal with the crisis of rising rice prices. The crisis of rising rice prices and the Japanese government’s failure to control them reached a point in May 1404, when the popularity of Shigeru Ishiba, the then Prime Minister, reached its lowest point.
The rising rice prices forced Shigeru Ishiba, the then Prime Minister of Japan, to reform agricultural policies. The crisis progressed to the point that Shinjiro Koizumi, the Minister of Agriculture in the Ishiba government (who is now the Minister of Defense in the Takaichi government), was forced to resign.