The Takaichi administration’s high-stakes growth gamble

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama attend a budget committee session at the Upper House of parliament in Tokyo in April. | Bloomberg

Sep 14, 2026

One of the great challenges of long-term economic planning in a democracy is the election cycle. The political competition that gives democracy its strength can also make it difficult to sustain policy over decades.

Japan’s new growth strategy, the centerpiece of the Takaichi administration’s economic and industrial policy, looks ahead to fiscal 2040. It will have to survive multiple administrations to achieve its central goal: strengthening Japan’s economy and national security. Its ambitions therefore warrant examination from an economic security perspective.

The growth strategy designates 17 strategic sectors, including semiconductors, AI and defense. Within those sectors, it identifies 62 priority technologies and products. For each, it sets out a public-private investment roadmap covering current conditions and challenges, pathways to success, targets, necessary measures and required budgets. It also identifies eight cross-cutting areas, including technological capability and human-resource development.

In a time of both misinformation and too much information,
quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.