Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet on Tuesday approved a record-high ¥92.6 trillion initial general-account budget for fiscal 2013, aiming to shore up the economy through large-scale public works projects.
But with 46.3 percent of the budget to be financed by new bond issuance, Abe will need to quickly hammer out a plan to restore the nation's precarious fiscal health, already the worst among major developed countries.
The total size of the initial budget for the new fiscal year, which starts April 1, is higher than the previous initial-budget record of ¥92.4 trillion proposed in fiscal 2011. That budget, compiled by the previous government under the now-ousted Democratic Party of Japan, entailed generous spending programs for the general public, including bigger child allowances.