Based on its stance that there can be no fiscal consolidation without economic revitalization, the Abe administration has given priority to raising Japan’s growth rate. Of course, there is little scope for further monetary easing, which has been the mainstay of government policy so far, and it will be difficult to raise the growth rate through macroeconomic measures. Because government policy has hitherto targeted the expansion of tax revenues through economic growth, efforts to implement an in-depth reform of the expenditure structure have been postponed. As a result, the initial goal of achieving a positive primary balance by fiscal 2020 is now close to impossible. […]