Japan's Cabinet approves an extra budget plan of 13.20 trillion yen ($87 billion) for fiscal 2023 ending March to fund a new economic package designed to mitigate the burden of rising prices on households and navigate the economy through the cost-of-living crisis.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says he aims to get a fiscal 2023 supplementary budget for funding a new economic package passed during an extraordinary parliamentary session, to be convened on Oct. 20.
Japanese households will see their budgets further squeezed by a new wave of price hikes scheduled for October on food and services, while freelancers and those self-employed may have to shoulder higher tax burdens under a new invoice system.
Budget requests by Japanese ministries and agencies for fiscal 2024 totaled a record 114.39 trillion yen ($779 billion), after higher bond yields pushed up debt-servicing costs on top of increased defense and social security spending, the Finance Ministry says..
Japan's Defense Ministry on Thursday requested a record 7.7 trillion yen ($53 billion) budget for fiscal 2024 as the government aims to deploy arms to realize newly authorized capabilities to strike enemy targets for stronger deterrence in the wake of the worsening regional security environment.