The Lower House on Saturday approved a ¥112.57 trillion ($750 billion) draft budget for the next fiscal year starting in April aimed at boosting the nation's defense capabilities, helping households cope with inflation and assist recovery efforts in areas hit by the New Year's Day earthquake.
The budget put forward by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's ruling camp is the country's second-largest ever, smaller only than the ¥114.38 trillion requested in fiscal 2023.
The Lower House, controlled by the ruling coalition of Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, cleared the bill after deliberations at a budget committee meeting in which the opposition grilled the prime minister over the party's ongoing political funds scandal.