Economy Ministry to Seek 7.7 T. Yen in FY 2027 Budget

Tokyo, Aug. 20 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to submit a fiscal 2027 budget request totaling 7,726.8 billion yen, it was learned Thursday.

Of the total, 4,525 billion yen will be requested under a new budget quota with no preset ceiling and designed to fund investments to build a strong and prosperous nation, including those related to artificial intelligence and semiconductors.

In light of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's intention to end the government's reliance on supplementary budgets, the ministry will include in its initial budget request expenses that would usually be sought in supplementary budgets. As a result, the budget request will be about 2.5 times higher than the previous year's.

The 4,525 billion yen to be sought under the new budget quota will include 1,434.2 billion yen for developing physical AI, which operates robots, strengthening semiconductor production infrastructure, and other purposes, as well as about 680 billion yen for securing critical minerals, including rare earths.

The ministry also plans to allocate about 220 billion yen to diversify naphtha procurement sources following supply disruptions caused by turmoil in the Middle East and to bolster stockpiles of chemical products.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]