Japan Approves Record-Breaking Supplementary Budget Exceeding 370 Trillion Won

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] The Japanese government has finalized a supplementary budget bill worth a record 370 trillion won.

According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on the 26th, the Japanese government held an extraordinary cabinet meeting in the afternoon and approved the supplementary budget for the 2021 fiscal year (April 2021 to March 2022). Including local allocation tax grants, the expenditure amounts to 35.9895 trillion yen (approximately 374 trillion won), the largest ever.

Of the additional expenditures, 31.5627 trillion yen will be used as funds to support economic measures. Previously, the Kishida Fumio Cabinet announced an economic package worth a record 55.7 trillion yen.

The shortfall of 22.058 trillion yen in expenditures, due to tax revenue and surplus funds, is expected to be largely covered through government bond issuance.

Specifically, 18.6059 trillion yen has been allocated to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Of this, 1.7687 trillion yen will be invested in treatment drugs, vaccine research and development, resumption of socioeconomic activities, and post-COVID-19 response.

Investment in growth areas such as digital transformation and advanced technologies will also be accelerated. 8.2532 trillion yen will be invested to promote the "new capitalism" advocated by Prime Minister Kishida. Initiatives include university funds, securing domestic semiconductor production bases, and upgrading local data centers. A budget of 2.9349 trillion yen has been allocated for natural disaster preparedness against typhoons and earthquakes.

The supplementary budget bill is scheduled to be submitted to the extraordinary Diet session convened on the 6th of next month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.