Central government debt stood at ¥1,049.37 trillion — or just over 1 quadrillion — at the end of March, up ¥4.78 trillion from three months earlier, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.
The growing debt reflects a lack of financial resources amid ballooning social security costs in rapidly aging Japan.
According to the ministry, the latest total consisted of ¥910.81 trillion in government bonds, ¥54.81 trillion in borrowing, mainly from financial institutions, and ¥83.75 trillion in financing bills or short-term government notes of up to one year.
As of March 31, per capita debt, or the amount owed per person, stood at around ¥8.26 million, given a population of about 126.98 million — an estimate as of April 1.
The total debt was more than double the country's nominal gross domestic product in 2015 of ¥499.1 trillion.
Japan's fiscal health is the worst among major developed economies.
The government releases fiscal data every three months, which is compiled according to International Monetary Fund standards.