A record-high ¥102.48 trillion ($1.3 trillion) in budget requests have been submitted for fiscal 2013 despite the need for fiscal discipline, the Finance Ministry said.
The requests for the year starting next April topped the previous record of ¥98.47 trillion for fiscal 2012 by about 4 percent. They comprise ¥98.00 trillion in general-account spending in areas ranging from welfare to national defense, and ¥4.48 trillion for reconstruction from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Ministries and agencies have also submitted requests for annual tax reforms, including the end of levies on vehicle purchases, to minimize the impact on household and business spending from the sales tax hikes in 2014 and 2015.