The Defense Ministry will seek a budget of over ¥5.4 trillion ($US 51.39B.) for fiscal 2021 — another record — government sources said Monday, as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga vowed to continue with his predecessor’s policy of bolstering Japan’s capabilities in new domains.
The seventh consecutive year of all-time high requests compares with the ¥5.31 trillion sought in the ministry’s initial budget for the year ending in March. The plan comes amid growing concerns about the country’s fiscal health, the worst among major economies, with over ¥1.1 quadrillion worth of public debt. In fiscal 2020, the new government debt issuance is set to exceed ¥90 trillion to a record high in response to a coronavirus pandemic.
Japan; MoD requests record 2021 budget