Tokyo, Dec. 26 -- Japan's Cabinet on Friday approved a draft budget worth about 122.3 trillion yen (about 785 billion U.S. dollars) for the next fiscal year starting April, local media reported. The huge spending, the first full-scale budget under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, marks a record high for the second straight year following the fiscal 2025 initial budget at about 115.2 trillion yen.
Takaichi's aggressive spending policy has pressured the yen against major currencies in the foreign exchange market, which is a negative sign for a country that relies heavily on imported energy sources, Kyodo News reported.
Under the draft budget for fiscal 2026, new government bond issuance is set at about 29.6 trillion yen to cover a revenue sho...