STOCKS | Sanae Takaichi Praises Japan's Record Budget Request Transparency

Japan's prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, praised the country's record budget request after reforms to the budget process, saying it improved fiscal transparency and discipline. According to Sina Finance, Japan's Ministry of Finance said ministries requested 143.1 trillion yen for the fiscal year starting in April, up from 122 trillion yen a year earlier and above 140.6 trillion yen, the sum of this year's initial budget and last year's 18.3 trillion yen supplementary budget. Takaichi said on social media that incorporating supplementary spending into the initial budget process would allow more thorough spending reviews between September and December. She also said the government would review and cut nonessential spending, seek more forward-looking investment in the budget, and end Japan's long-standing postwar reliance on supplementary budgets. Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said the increase did not mean the budget was becoming disorderly, and said the actual increase was about 2.5 trillion yen. According to the ministry's calculation, the budget rose only 1.8%, rather than 17% based on a comparison with this year's initial budget. The ministry said defense, economic, and labor ministries all submitted record-high requests. Japan's benchmark 10-year government bond yield rose to 3% this week, the first time in three decades, and the government is planning a record debt-servicing budget for the next fiscal year.