General-account budget requests from Japanese government agencies and ministries for fiscal 2026 are expected to exceed ¥122 trillion to hit a record high for the third consecutive year.

The figure is higher than the ¥117.6 trillion sought under the government's fiscal 2025 general-account budget. On Friday, the Finance Ministry effectively finished accepting budget requests for fiscal 2026, which starts next April.

The increase is due to surges in debt-servicing costs, including loan repayments and interest payments, and policy-related expenses reflecting rising prices and wages.

For the fiscal 2026 budget requests, the Finance Ministry allowed ministries and agencies to seek increases in funds for important policies, such as measures to fight inflation, without cutting existing costs. They were also allowed to request budget increases for a wide range of spending items in light of rising wages and prices.

A record high of ¥34.8 trillion was requested by the health ministry, the highest among ministries and agencies, reflecting rising social security costs, such as pension and medical expenses, due to an aging population.

The Children and Families Agency sought ¥4.3 trillion, the highest since its founding in 2023.

The Finance Ministry plans to secure a record high of ¥32.4 trillion in debt-servicing costs, up ¥4.2 trillion from the fiscal 2025 initial budget, as interest payments are set to grow due to higher long-term interest rates partly reflecting the normalization of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy.

The Defense Ministry asked for ¥8.8 trillion, up some ¥120 billion, based on the government's plan to spend a total of ¥43 trillion on defenses over the five years through fiscal 2027.

The request from the transport ministry grew more than ¥1 trillion to ¥7.2 trillion, including funds for measures to address aging infrastructure.

Funds were sought without specific amounts for items such as medical fee and drug price revisions, and tuition-free systems for high schools. The Cabinet Secretariat requested funds needed for the establishment of a disaster management agency, a signature project of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, while the agriculture ministry requested budget appropriation to promote farmland consolidation following soaring rice prices.

The transport ministry asked for funds related to its ¥20 trillion-plus five-year project from fiscal 2026 to strengthen infrastructure to make the country more resistant to natural disasters.