What Are Offsets?
INTERVIEWER The fiscal 2021 defense budget is expected to climb to 5.34 trillion yen, the highest on record. How much of that will be used to procure arms, materials, and equipment from abroad?
NAKATANI GEN The share claimed by imports has been rising year by year. This is particularly true of items covered by the Foreign Military Sales program, under which Washington provides defense articles and services to its allies. The fiscal 2021 budget request includes imports of 3.7 trillion yen under FMS, of which 3.1 trillion yen will be for items used in Japan and 500 billion yen for overseas.
INTERVIEWER The Japanese economy has been decimated over the past year due to the outbreak of COVID-19, but arms and equipment purchases from foreign sources are likely to rise in order to counter developments in China and North Korea. Is there anything the Japanese government can do to overcome this dilemma?
A New Artist Spreads His Wings
At just 23, singer-songwriter Fujii Kaze has made a name for himself as one of the brightest prospects in Japanese music. His songs are marked by original, freewheeling, and catchy melodies and unique lyrics, often sung in the dialect of his native Okayama in Fujii’s supple yet sturdy voice and backed by his own skillful piano playing.
He made his debut in November 2019, when his single “Nan-Nan” was released as a digital download. Today, when subscription services are rapidly becoming the mainstream way of listening to music even in Japan, it is no longer unusual for artists to make their music available in digital form only. Even so, there was something a little different about the way Fujii set about making his debut: he has built his career so far mostly through his presence on YouTube.