Speaking as part of the final leaders' debate of the current session of the House of Representatives, PM Shigeru Ishiba counters recent reports about the prospect of cash handouts ahead of the House of Councillors election due by late July. Reuters reports Ishiba saying that it is "not true that the gov't is currently considering providing cash handouts" and that people "should be cautious about any plans that would deteriorate already tattered state finances."
- This would seem to counter a report in Asahi Shimbun, claiming that Ishiba's conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition allies Komeito are considering a 'payment scheme' to 'combat price rises'. Shimbun: "There will be no income restrictions, and every citizen will receive 20,000 yen (USD137) in cash. An additional 20,000 yen will be provided to households not subject to resident tax."
- Ishiba, responding to a question from the leader of the Japanese Communist Party, said cutting the consumption tax was "not appropriate,".
- There has been speculation that main opposition centre-left Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) leader Yoshihiko Noda could submit a no=confidence motion in Ishiba's minority gov't, but reports claim that Noda may delay this until after the sidelines summit between the PM and US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada running 15-17 June.