UPDATE1: Japan lower house OKs record 97.45 tril. yen budget for FY 2017
Japan’s House of Representatives approved Monday a record 97.45 trillion yen ($870 billion) draft budget for fiscal 2017 to finance ballooning social security costs and enhance its defence capabilities.
The initial budget for the year starting in April also features expenditure to invest in growth areas as the economy has been struggling to break out of chronic deflation.
The budget is certain to be enacted before the end of the current fiscal year on March 31, given that it will be automatically enacted 30 days after being sent to the upper house under the Constitution.
The House of Councillors is scheduled to start deliberating on the budget plan on Tuesday after it was approved by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito in a majority vote at the lower house.