Japan set to compile biggest-ever budget for FY2022 -Nikkei

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks before the media at his official residence as an extraordinary Diet session was closed, in Tokyo, Japan December 21, 2021. Yoshikazu Tsuno/Pool via REUTERS
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks before the media at his official residence as an extraordinary Diet session was closed, in Tokyo, Japan December 21, 2021. Yoshikazu Tsuno/Pool via REUTERS

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's government plans to compile a record-high annual budget for the next fiscal year, totalling about 107.6 trillion yen ($941.38 billion), the Nikkei newspaper said on Wednesday.

The budget will reach a record high because of the cost of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and increased social welfare spending to pay for an ageing population.

The government was set to issue more than 30 trillion yen in deficit-covering bonds to finance the budget for fiscal 2022, starting from April, for the second straight year, the Nikkei said without citing sources.

The government also expected tax revenues to increase in the next fiscal year compared with the current year, leading to a decrease in the issue of new bonds compared with this year, the newspaper said.

The government also expected tax revenues to increase in the next fiscal year compared with the current year, meaning there will be a decrease in the issue of new bonds compared with this year, the newspaper said.

The spending will include five trillion yen in reserves to pay for pandemic-related emergency costs, it added.

Japan's public debt burden, at more than twice the size of its economy, is the biggest among advanced nations after years of heavy stimulus and ballooning costs due to the burden of paying for its rapidly ageing population.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet is expected to approve the budget plan on Friday.

($1 = 114.3000 yen)

(Reporting by Sakura Murakami, Tetsushi Kajimoto and Daniel Leussink; Editing by Tom Hogue)

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