Japan said Friday it will relaunch a broad fiscal spending review, expanding
scrutiny of public funds and subsidy programs to find financing for Prime
Minister Takaichi Sanae’s high-cost policy commitments. The restart revives a
Japanese version of the US-style DOGE program (Government Efficiency Office plan).
An earlier review of about 120 tax preferences yielded only three abolition
proposals, prompting a tougher approach. The new round will target 201 special
government funds, whose combined balances are estimated at about ¥7 trillion
($443.5 billion) by the end of the next fiscal year.
