General-account budget requests from government agencies topped ¥120 trillion for the first time for fiscal 2026, which starts next April, led by higher debt serving costs and social security spending, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.

The total requested amount rose sharply from ¥117.6 trillion in the previous year to ¥122.4 trillion, hitting a record high for the third straight year.

There were many requests related to important policies that were filed without specifying the amount of funding needed.

The requested amount for debt-servicing hit a record high of ¥32.4 trillion, an increase of over ¥4 trillion from the fiscal 2025 budget. The government raised the assumed rate of interest on debt to 2.6% amid higher long-term interest rates.

For budget requests, the government allowed agencies to raise discretionary expenses by up to 20% from the fiscal 2025 budget to promote important policies including measures to reduce the impact of higher prices. Funding requests for important policies totaled ¥2.7 trillion.

Funding requests for measures aimed at promoting wage increases also increased. These requests included larger labor costs for maintaining government buildings and higher pay for statistics researchers.

Requests for wage increases for workers in public works projects and medical and nursing care services were filed without specific budget amounts.

Budget requests for the 2026 fiscal investment and loan program totaled ¥12.2 trillion, down ¥18.3 billion from the previous year's program.