The first meeting of an expert panel set up by the Ministry of Finance to discuss measures to address trade deficits was held, and it was confirmed that an opinion would be compiled in June this year.
Regarding Japan's trade and investment, Japan
had a trade deficit for three consecutive years until last year due to an increase in energy imports, and
overseas spending in areas such as video distribution, known as the "digital deficit," is expanding. Masu.
On the other hand, the "travel balance" continues to improve due to strong inbound tourism, and it has been pointed out that strengthening international competitiveness and promoting investment from overseas are important in order to strengthen the balance structure. I am.
The first meeting of the Expert Council was held at the Ministry of Finance on the 26th, and 17 people, including university professors and economists, attended.
This includes ``It is necessary to respond to the expanding deficit in cutting-edge fields such as digital and R&D,'' and ``Learning about overseas policies to actively attract powerful foreign capital, such as providing incentives for domestic investment.'' Opinions such as "should be done" were expressed.
After that, we confirmed that we will continue to have discussions and compile our opinions in June this year.
After the meeting, Finance Minister Kanda said, ``We will thoroughly analyze ways to make Japan more competitive and attractive and improve its balance of payments, and we will begin the process of linking this to policy.''