Japan budget requests at record $995 billion for next fiscal year: MOF
September 4, 2013
TOKYO – Japan’s government ministries made budget requests totaling a record 99.3 trillion yen ($994.9 billion) for the fiscal year from next April, the finance ministry said on Wednesday, which will test the government’s ability to cut spending.
Budget requests swelled because the finance ministry requested a record amount for debt-servicing costs. Bulging social welfare spending due to an ageing society also pushed up budget requests.
The amount requested matched what sources told Reuters last week ahead of a submissions deadline on Friday. The finance ministry in recent years has typically trimmed the requested total by several trillion yen when it prepares its draft budget in December.