Jul 19 (Nikkei) - Even unrealistically robust economic and productivity growth would not be enough to bring Japan's primary balance into the black by fiscal 2020, government estimates released Tuesday show.
The Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy provided medium- to long-term projections based on two sets of conditions: a conservative baseline and high growth. The Cabinet Office arm forecasts a combined primary deficit of 8.2 trillion yen ($73.1 billion) for the national and local governments in the fiscal year ending March 2021 under the rosier scenario. The government aims to achieve a primary surplus by then, indicating that policy spending can be covered with tax revenue alone without resorting to issuing debt.
