ID :
210509
Fri, 09/30/2011 - 18:01
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/210509
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Requests for Japan's FY 2012 budget hit record high of 99 tril. yen
TOKYO, Sept. 30 Kyodo -
Japanese government offices have requested a record high total of around 99 trillion yen ($1.3 trillion) under the state budget for the next fiscal year as the country has been forced to carry out emergency spending following the March earthquake and tsunami, officials said Friday.
The requests by ministries and agencies for fiscal 2012, starting next April, come as Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is facing a difficult balancing act of boosting the Japanese economy while maintaining fiscal discipline to prevent further deterioration in its public finances, the worst among major developed countries.
The total, which topped the previous record of 96.75 trillion yen for the current fiscal 2011, has swollen due to requests for some 3.5 trillion yen in spending on recovery projects in the aftermath of the March 11 disaster and subsequent crisis at the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The initial general-account budget will also cover spending on measures to ease the negative impact on the economy from the recent sharp rise of the yen in the currency market, which has eroded the global competitiveness of Japanese exporters and sparked fears that manufacturers might accelerate their shift of production abroad in pursuit of cheaper costs.
The government offices were required to submit their requests to the Finance Ministry by Friday.
Requests for spending on economic stimulus and local revitalization amounted to about 2 trillion yen despite the previously set allotment of 700 billion yen.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry asked for 15 billion yen to promote the use of solar power and other renewable energy sources, an attempt to reduce dependence on nuclear power following the Fukushima crisis.
The Japanese government normally drafts a state budget in December for the next fiscal year.
The Finance Ministry will screen the submitted requests. For fiscal 2011, the government finally drew up an initial budget of 92.41 trillion yen, also a record high.
Noda has capped government spending, except for debt-servicing costs, at 71 trillion yen and new bond issuance at 44 trillion yen, both at the same levels as seen for fiscal 2011.
Interest payments and other costs to service existing debt are expected to amount to 22.6 trillion yen, up 4.9 percent from the previous year.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry sought a total of 29.8 trillion yen, the biggest among all of the offices, reflecting the swelling social security costs in the country where the population is aging.
Requests for reconstruction and relief measures following the disasters also included 141.9 billion yen by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to make school buildings more quake-resistant and 374.4 billion yen from the Environment Ministry for decontamination work related to the nuclear crisis.
The government separately decided on a set of tax measures to help rebuild the devastated Tohoku region of northeastern Japan, including deductions from taxable revenues for companies as well as the expansion of tax breaks for bank loans taken out by survivors purchasing new homes. It will submit relevant bills to the Diet in October.
2011-09-30 23:14:17
Japanese government offices have requested a record high total of around 99 trillion yen ($1.3 trillion) under the state budget for the next fiscal year as the country has been forced to carry out emergency spending following the March earthquake and tsunami, officials said Friday.
The requests by ministries and agencies for fiscal 2012, starting next April, come as Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is facing a difficult balancing act of boosting the Japanese economy while maintaining fiscal discipline to prevent further deterioration in its public finances, the worst among major developed countries.
The total, which topped the previous record of 96.75 trillion yen for the current fiscal 2011, has swollen due to requests for some 3.5 trillion yen in spending on recovery projects in the aftermath of the March 11 disaster and subsequent crisis at the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The initial general-account budget will also cover spending on measures to ease the negative impact on the economy from the recent sharp rise of the yen in the currency market, which has eroded the global competitiveness of Japanese exporters and sparked fears that manufacturers might accelerate their shift of production abroad in pursuit of cheaper costs.
The government offices were required to submit their requests to the Finance Ministry by Friday.
Requests for spending on economic stimulus and local revitalization amounted to about 2 trillion yen despite the previously set allotment of 700 billion yen.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry asked for 15 billion yen to promote the use of solar power and other renewable energy sources, an attempt to reduce dependence on nuclear power following the Fukushima crisis.
The Japanese government normally drafts a state budget in December for the next fiscal year.
The Finance Ministry will screen the submitted requests. For fiscal 2011, the government finally drew up an initial budget of 92.41 trillion yen, also a record high.
Noda has capped government spending, except for debt-servicing costs, at 71 trillion yen and new bond issuance at 44 trillion yen, both at the same levels as seen for fiscal 2011.
Interest payments and other costs to service existing debt are expected to amount to 22.6 trillion yen, up 4.9 percent from the previous year.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry sought a total of 29.8 trillion yen, the biggest among all of the offices, reflecting the swelling social security costs in the country where the population is aging.
Requests for reconstruction and relief measures following the disasters also included 141.9 billion yen by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to make school buildings more quake-resistant and 374.4 billion yen from the Environment Ministry for decontamination work related to the nuclear crisis.
The government separately decided on a set of tax measures to help rebuild the devastated Tohoku region of northeastern Japan, including deductions from taxable revenues for companies as well as the expansion of tax breaks for bank loans taken out by survivors purchasing new homes. It will submit relevant bills to the Diet in October.
2011-09-30 23:14:17
