Photo/Illutration The Finance Ministry (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Budgetary requests by government ministries for fiscal 2023 reached about 110 trillion yen ($789 billion) on Aug. 31, but the figure will likely expand because of wider use of an “exception to the rule.”

Still, the overall total will probably fall under that for the fiscal 2022 budget because of an 11-percent decrease in requests to pay for government bonds.

The welfare and defense ministries submitted record amounts in their budget requests to the Finance Ministry.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare asked for 33.264 trillion yen, an increase of 634 billion yen over its request for fiscal 2022, mainly to bolster social security programs as the Japanese population continues to gray.

The Defense Ministry asked for a record 5.595 trillion yen for fiscal 2023, but it also listed about 100 items without giving specific budgetary request figures.

Such a practice was long considered the exception.

For example, ministries in recent years have listed only the names of programs to deal with the novel coronavirus pandemic because it was unclear what specific measures were needed in the rapidly changing situation.

The Defense Ministry’s requested amount could greatly increase in fiscal 2023, reflecting the decision made by the Kishida administration to double defense spending within five years.

Other budget requests without specific amounts were made in connection with the green transformation program, another major policy initiative of the Kishida administration designed to move the nation toward a carbon-neutral future.

A request was also submitted for about 4 trillion yen to establish a new agency for children and family next spring.

A special budget allocation program of about 4.4 trillion yen has been set up to fulfill Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s pledge to bring about a “new capitalism.”

Under that program, the economy ministry requested 246.4 billion yen for research and development into advanced robots.

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