Japan's defense budget for fiscal 2021 will be around ¥5.34 trillion ($51.5 billion), a record high for the seventh straight year, government sources said Wednesday.
The government plans to make Japan's entire initial budget for the year starting in April in the upper ¥106 trillion range, far exceeding the previous record of ¥102.66 trillion set in fiscal 2020, according to the sources.
The general account budget will top ¥100 trillion for the third straight year on an initial basis, due to growing social security and coronavirus response costs.