Budget requests exceed ¥110 tril., hitting 2nd-highest
17:28 JST, September 6, 2022
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — General-account budget requests from government agencies for fiscal 2023, which starts next April, totaled ¥110,048.4 billion, the second-highest on record after the ¥111,655.9 billion sought for fiscal 2022, the Finance Ministry said Monday.
The latest budget requests feature a record spending request from the Defense Ministry, an increase in debt-serving costs following massive spending on measures to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and higher social security spending attributable to the aging population.
The total is likely to swell further during the budget compilation process toward year-end as agencies have requested spending on many items without specifying how much they need. Such requests included measures related to defense and the fight against soaring prices.
Total general-account spending under a final budget plan, due out late this year, is highly likely to hit a record on an initial basis, eclipsing the current high of ¥107,596.4 billion marked in fiscal 2022.
Total budget requests topped ¥100 trillion for the ninth consecutive year.
The Defense Ministry requested a record ¥5,559.8 billion. In addition, the ministry’s request included more than 100 items sought without specifying the amount of money involved.
These items are partly related to the government’s medium-term defense buildup program that is up for review later this year.
The Finance Ministry sought ¥26,988.6 billion in debt-servicing expenses.
Due to rising social security costs, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry asked for ¥33,264.4 billion, the second-highest level ever. The ministry’s request will hit a record high if spending related to a planned agency for child and family policy is included.
"Politics" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Chinese Ships Stay in Japanese Waters near Senkaku Islands for 2 Days
-
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Promotes Revised NISA Investment Program to Young People; Kishida Focusing on Moving Money From Savings to Investment in a Safe Environment
-
Japan, U.S. to Join Forces on AI, Semiconductors; Seek to Counter China’s ‘Military-Civil Fusion’
-
Japan, U.S. to Work Together for Expanding Marine Product Supply Chains; Countering China’s Economic Coercion
-
84% of People Nationwide Say They Feel Japan’s National Security Is Under Threat
JN ACCESS RANKING
- Japan Lags in Efforts to Gain Value from Human Resources; Govt Working to Increase Usage
- Japan MOF’s Kanda Warns against Yen’s Weakness
- M6.0 Earthquake Hits Japan’s Tohoku Region; Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi Prefectures Observe 4 on Japanese Scale With No Risk of Tsunami
- Cherry Blossoms Draw Crowd to Tokyo’s Ueno Park; Viewing Season Kicks Off to Slow Start
- Shinkansen Services Suspended After Man ‘Searches for Phone’ on Tracks; Disruption Affects About 14,000 Passengers