Japanese parliament approves over $750B budget for next year

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) – Japan's parliament on Saturday approved a 112.57 trillion yen (approximately $750 billion) draft budget for the next fiscal year, which begins in April, local media said.

The budget presented by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's ruling coalition is the country's second-largest ever, trailing only the 114.38 trillion yen requested for fiscal 2023, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.

The budget was approved by the lower house, which is led by Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito.

The budget contains content that is directly related to the recovery from the Noto Peninsula earthquake and the lives of the people, Kishida said during the committee session.

Last month, the government revised the budget endorsed in December following the Noto Peninsula earthquake, doubling the amount of emergency funds to 1 trillion yen.

The plan also includes subsidies for companies to raise wages amid inflation, as well as record defense outlays of 7.95 trillion yen, the news agency said.

A 7.6 magnitude earthquake on New Year's Day hit the Noto Peninsula in central Japan killing over 230 people and displacing more than 14,000 more.

Kishida's government plans to grant $41,000 to elderly households to help them restart their lives after the earthquakes damaged 46,000 homes.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid