The Cabinet formally approved on Saturday a 79.686 trillion yen general account budget for fiscal 2006 that would help slow down growth of the nation's debt.
Armed with a broad mandate with a landslide win in September's general election and an expected rise in tax revenue, the government was able to deliver on Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's promise to rein in debt for the first time in five years by reducing the budget by 3 percent from the initial fiscal 2005 budget.
But critics said the hard political work and additional burden to taxpayers remain ahead.