Finance Minister Katayama Satsuki (片山さつき) discusses the newly established “Strong and Prosperous Japan” investment framework in next fiscal year’s initial budget request, saying cooperation with the Japan Innovation Party is “going very well” in Nagaizumi, Shizuoka

Finance Minister Katayama Satsuki (片山さつき), who attended a prefectural policy briefing in Nagaizumi, Shizuoka Prefecture, on the 12th, explained the “Strong and Prosperous Japan” investment framework newly established in next fiscal year’s initial budget request. Approximately 250 people, including prefectural assembly members elected from Nagaizumi, attended the speech. Katayama said that, as the Finance Ministry minister overseeing budget reviews, she was supporting the initiative while advancing the selection of allocations nationwide, and said that she was pursuing reforms to the budget system.

Next fiscal year’s initial budget request is expected to total approximately ¥12.2 trillion, while the investment scale of the “Strong and Prosperous Japan” investment framework is expected to exceed ¥10 trillion. The initial budget request itself is expected to reach approximately ¥143 trillion in total, and the government’s policy of promoting greater domestic investment around the framework was emphasized. Katayama also explained the stability of domestic investment, citing such factors as trends in the Nikkei Stock Average.

In a one-on-one interview after the speech, Katayama was asked about cooperation with Yoshimura Hirofumi (吉村洋文), leader of the Japan Innovation Party, and said that she believed the cooperation was “going very well.” She also touched on issues including the possibility of the Japan Innovation Party joining the Cabinet and the establishment of future benefit programs in connection with concentrated-investment frameworks such as Japan’s version of DOGE. She also discussed the handling of related bills, including a bill to reduce consumption tax expected to begin deliberation during the extraordinary session of the Diet.