The Noda administration on Aug. 17 adopted guidelines for budgetary requests for fiscal 2013, with a funding priority for three areas — the environment, medical services, and agriculture and fisheries. These areas are the main pillars of the government's Japan revitalization strategy.
The government needs to pursue two difficult goals: strengthening these three areas as seeds for stimulating the economy while maintaining overall financial discipline.
Under the guidelines, the government will maintain the current fiscal year's ¥71 trillion cap on major policy spending and ¥44 trillion limit on the issuance of new deficit-covering bonds.