Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi touted the formulation of Japan’s record spending requests as increasing the transparency and discipline of the country’s finances after an overhaul of the budget-making process. Takaichi’s government has promised to review and cut back on unnecessary spending programs and is trying to incorporate more forward-looking investment into the budget, but the biggest change is an attempt to end Japan’s postwar reliance on extra budgets. Ministries sought ¥143.1 trillion ($908 billion) in total for the fiscal year starting in April, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
That topped last year’s ¥122 trillion in requests. It also exceeded ¥140.6 trillion, the combined size of this year’s initial budget and last year’s ¥18.3 trillion extra budget — a comparison cited by the ministry as the most apt given changes to the budgeting process.
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