Japan Govt Adopts 8.5-Trillion-Yen Stopgap Budget

Tokyo, March 27 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government adopted a stopgap budget plan with 8,564.1 billion yen in general-account spending on Friday to cover expenditures for the first 11 days of fiscal 2026, which begins on Wednesday. The government remains committed to enacting a fiscal 2026 regular budget by the end of fiscal 2025, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said at a press conference. “We’ll submit a provisional budget to parliament in preparation for unforeseen circumstances,” she said. Parliament is expected to approve the first stopgap budget in 11 years on Monday. While a provisional budget typically covers only essential expenses such as social security benefits, the latest plan includes funding for new programs, including making high school tuition free. The House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, passed the fiscal 2026 regular budget on March 13 after deliberations were shortened due to its election in February. Opposition parties are demanding sufficient debate on the budget in the House of Councillors, the upper chamber, making its passage by the end of this fiscal year on Tuesday unlikely. The regular budget will automatically take effect on April 12 even without Upper House approval as the country’s Constitution gives the Lower House precedence over the Upper House in budgetary matters. Of the expenditures under the stopgap budget, 2,756.5 billion yen will be used for social security programs, including pension and welfare benefits. Tax grants to local governments will total 5,102.8 billion yen. Defense expenditures are set at 187.2 billion yen. The budget also includes 47.7 billion yen for making high school tuition free and 14.9 billion yen for free elementary school lunches. Revenue is estimated at 64.4 billion yen, including 39 billion yen in tax revenue. The remaining shortfall will be funded through the issuance of financing bills. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]