Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday that his government would not raise taxes next fiscal year but would take steps in stages towards fiscal 2027 to secure funding sources for boosting the defence budget.

Kishida made the remark in a meeting with officials from his government and ruling coalition at his office.

A senior ruling party official said on Wednesday Japan will not rule out any measures to fund increases in defence spending, but that the government would not raise taxes in the next fiscal year when the five-year defence spending plan kicks off. (Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Toby Chopra)