The Cabinet of Prime Minister Naoto Kan approved a plan Tuesday to keep general account spending for fiscal 2011 below the ¥71 trillion planned for fiscal 2010, as the administration aims to form a more detailed budgetary guideline by the end of the month.
Within the ¥71 trillion, the Democratic Party of Japan-led government will put priority on a new growth strategy and campaign pledges the party made for the July 11 Upper House election, according to the outline endorsed by the Cabinet.
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said there is no change in the government's target of capping new Japanese government bond issuance for fiscal 2011 below ¥44 trillion as planned for the current year, although the outline made no mention of the target.
"We will flesh out the details (of Tuesday's policy)" including whether to set a ceiling on budget requests by each ministry and agency, Noda said.
According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku, the detailed guideline will likely gain Cabinet endorsement by the end of July.
The administration was considering asking ministries to cut policy-related outlays by at least around 10 percent compared with the levels for fiscal 2010 but failed to include the plan in Tuesday's outline amid opposition from some Cabinet ministers.