Japan gov't approves record 115.54 trillion yen draft budget for fiscal 2025

TOKYO, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government on Friday approved a record 115.54 trillion yen (about 733 billion U.S. dollars) draft budget for fiscal 2025 as expenditures for social security and national defense continue to rise.

The general-account budget for the year starting next April exceeded the 110 trillion yen-mark for the third consecutive year and surpassed the previous record of 114.38 trillion yen set in fiscal 2023.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's cabinet approved the bill on the day. The draft will be submitted to the Diet, or parliament, for deliberations during its regular session beginning next month.

A record 38.28 trillion yen, or about a third of the budget, is earmarked to cover social security costs that have been swelling with an aging population and a declining birthrate.

While the draft budget estimates a record-high 78.44 trillion yen tax revenue for fiscal 2025 due largely to robust corporate earnings, the government plans to issue 28.65 trillion yen's worth of new bonds to help finance the budget. (1 U.S. dollar equals about 157 yen)■