TOKYO, Jan 19 (Reuters) – Japan’s opposition Democratic Party for the People will propose issuing five trillion yen ($32 billion) in “education bonds” annually to double the spending on child care, education and scientific research, a draft campaign platform obtained by Reuters showed on Monday.
The DPP will also propose lowering the consumption tax rate to 5% from 10% until the pace of wage gains exceed the rate of inflation by 2%, the draft showed.
To fund various spending measures, Japan should use proceeds from investing 180 trillion yen worth of reserves set aside for currency intervention, another 280 trillion yen in pension reserves, as well as 90 trillion yen worth of exchange-traded funds (ETF) held by the central bank, the platform showed.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is widely expected to dissolve parliament’s lower house and call a snap election in February in her first major election test since taking office in October.
DPP currently holds the third largest number of seats among opposition parties and enjoys popularity among younger voters with its focus on expanding tax breaks and increasing pay.
Depending on the election outcome, the party could influence government policies with its decision on whether to support parliament passage of the fiscal 2026 budget and a bill to allow government issuance of deficit-covering bonds, analysts say.
($1 = 157.8800 yen)
(Reporting by Yoshifumi Takemoto and Tamiyuki Kihara; Writing by Leika Kihara; Editing by Michael Perry)
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