The Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday approved a draft budget of ¥97.7 trillion for fiscal 2018 — setting a new record for the sixth straight year.
The government aims to strike a balance between reviving the economy and restoring fiscal health, underscored by its reductions in new bond issuances on the back of a sizable tax revenue.
But swelling social security costs and rising military spending in response to North Korea's nuclear and missile threat suggests that improving its deficit-ridden finances — the worst among major industrialized countries — still has a way to go.