Japan to Set No Limits on Budget Requests for Growth Investment

Tokyo, July 24 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government plans to set no upper limits on spending requests related to growth investments under budget request guidelines for fiscal 2027, which starts next April, officials said Friday. Agencies will be allowed to make such requests for a new spending quota that the government will create under the fiscal 2027 budget to make the country powerful and affluent. Projects that take several years will be eligible. Government agencies will also be allowed to make requests for social security spending that reflect 400 billion yen in natural increase related to the aging population. The government aims to adopt the budget request guidelines, the first under the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took office in October, within this month. The guidelines call for agencies to include projects that are supposed to be handled by a supplementary budget so far in their requests for the initial budget. The government will receive spending requests related to efforts to boost the country’s defense capabilities in line with a planned update to its three key national security documents. Agencies will be allowed to make requests for discretionary expenses, excluding public works projects, that will be up to 20 pct higher than the previous year. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]