Japan Maintains Estimate For Long-Term Budget Surplus In Fiscal Projections

  • Japan kept its forecasts unchanged on Thursday for a return to a budget surplus over the long-term, even though the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its economy and debt pile remains uncertain.
  • In its twice-yearly fiscal and economic projections, the government forecast that the primary budget, excluding new bond sales and debt servicing, would achieve a surplus of 300 billion yen ($2.9Bn) in the fiscal year starting April 2029.
  • That was unchanged from its previous forecast released last July when it pushed back the projection for achieving the surplus by two years.
  • The uncertainty hanging over the economic outlook due to COVID-19 is particularly painful for Japan, which is saddled with a public debt burden more than twice the size of its $5 trillion economy, the biggest among industrialized nations.

(Source: Reuters)