Japan parliament approves $744B budget for fiscal year 2024

By Ahmer Faruk Mercan

TOKYO (AA) – The Japanese parliament has approved a 112.5 trillion yen (approximately $744 billion) budget for fiscal year 2024.

The budget covers the fiscal year starting in April 2024 and ending in March 2025.

Finance Minister Suzuki Shunichi said in a statement that the budget aims to tackle urgent challenges that cannot be postponed.

The amount allocated for social security is noteworthy in the new budget, which is prepared by taking into account Japan's aging population.

Accordingly, more than 30% of the budget will be spent on social security due to the aging population and falling birth rates.

The budget allocates 37.7 trillion yen (approximately $249 billion) for social security and 7.9 trillion yen (approximately $52.1 billion) for national defense.

One trillion yen (about $6.6 billion) has been set aside for the emergency reserve fund, which will cover disaster and pandemic response.

To finance the fiscal year budget, the Japanese government will issue 35.4 trillion yen ($233 billion) in government bonds.

*Writing by Gokhan Ergocun from Istanbul