Economics
Japan’s Nearly $1 Trillion Record Budget Could Just Be the Start in Election Year
- Some lawmakers are pushing for U.S-style stimulus package
- Olympics, business subsidies could require more spending
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With elections coming and the pandemic yet to be quashed, a record annual budget nearing $1 trillion passed Friday by Japan’s parliament is likely to be just the start for a government that already has the developed world’s heaviest debt burden.
Japan’s 106.6 trillion yen ($975 billion) spending plan for the year beginning in April represents a 3.8% increase from 2020’s initial budget. Actual spending could rise higher, given Japan’s repeated use of extra budgets, three of which were drafted last year to fight the coronavirus, adding 73 trillion yen to the debt pile.