Japan Diet Enacts ¥18.3-T Extra Budget for Stimulus

Japan’s parliament approved an 18.3 trillion yen ($118 billion) supplementary budget for the current fiscal year ending in March to fund Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s expansionary stimulus package, Mainichi Shimbun reported.

The budget is billed as the largest since the coronavirus pandemic fiscal package of 2022.

The measure raises concerns over Japan’s deteriorating fiscal health.

The bill passed the House of Councilors just before the end of the Diet session, following approval by the more powerful House of Representatives.

Although Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party coalition lacks a majority in the upper house, some opposition parties, including the Democratic Party for the People, supported the bill because it included elements of their requested relief measures.

The budget, billed as the largest since the coronavirus pandemic fiscal package of 2022, aims to ease rising living costs and stimulate investment.

Despite 2.9 trillion yen in additional tax revenue, the government plans to issue 11.7 trillion yen in new bonds, covering more than 60% of the total, heightening concerns over Japan’s already strained fiscal consolidation—the weakest among G7 economies.