Lower House Passes Fiscal 2023 Budget

Jiji Press

8:30 JST, March 1, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed the government’s fiscal 2023 budget bill with record general-account spending of ¥114.381 trillion.

The bill was approved at the plenary meeting of the lower chamber of the Diet, with support mainly from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, Komeito.

Voting against it were the leading opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and other opposition parties including Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) and the Democratic Party for the People.

The bill is set to be enacted before the April 1 start of the fiscal year even without a vote by the upper house.

Of the general-account expenditures, which hit a record high for the 11th consecutive year, social security costs stand at ¥36.889 trillion, accounting for over 30% of the total due to the country’s aging population.