Japan may tap forex account for defence spending

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has instructed his ministers to work on a plan to lift defence spending’s share of GDP to 2% within five years, from about 1% now. — Reuters

TOKYO: Japan’s government is considering tapping funds under an account set aside for foreign exchange intervention to pay for an expected increase in defence spending, according to the Kyodo news agency.

The government could also sell additional bonds until a decision is made on whether to raise taxes as a long-term source of funding for the scheduled spending increase, Kyodo said without citing sources.