Budget requests by government ministries and agencies for fiscal 2023 swelled to a record-high level. 

Securing necessary funding for policy measures to respond to social and economic changes is taken as a given, but that should not justify disregard for fiscal discipline.

We strongly urge the government to rigorously evaluate the cost effectiveness of the proposed measures and secure revenue sources for the budget increase.

Total budget requests submitted to the Finance Ministry exceeded 110 trillion yen ($784 billion) by the Aug. 31 deadline.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare called for 634 billion yen more than it initially requested for the current fiscal year, reflecting natural increases in social security spending due to the aging of the population and other demographic factors.

Many other ministries and agencies also sought increased appropriations.

The total is slightly lower than the 111.656 trillion yen requested for the current fiscal year, but that is due to a decline in budget requests worth around 3 trillion yen linked to leftover funds from the previous fiscal year.

As a result, total expenditures requested by ministries and agencies are effectively at an all-time high.

It is important to note that outside the total sum many ministries and agencies submitted a raft of “jiko yokyu” item requests without specifying the amount.

The requests were for a wide range of policy measures, such as defense, decarbonization, childcare support, food and economic security, infrastructure resiliency, and restructuring of local railway lines.

The flood of requests came as a result of a ratcheted-down rhetoric about belt-tightening in the annual “Basic Policy on Economic and fiscal Management and Reform.”

The government de-emphasized the importance of spending cuts in the key policy document in response to calls from advocates of big spending within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

The dismal health of the nation’s public finances has further deteriorated in the face of massive spending to cushion the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Granted, the government had good reason to spend money to deal with the health crisis, but it is also urgent to start taking steps to improve fiscal health now that the economic impact of the pandemic is receding.

It seems certain that the swollen budget requests will place the government under increased pressure from the ruling party and government branches to pump up public spending as the Finance Ministry formulates the draft budget toward the year-end.

Three key areas in the budget compilation will revolve around enhancing national security, responding to low fertility rates and reducing the nation’s carbon footprint.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is keen to bolster policy efforts in these three areas.

For the past three decades or so, the government has prioritized financing to keep pace with natural increases in social security spending due to the aging population while keeping expenditures largely unchanged in other areas.

If the Kishida administration decides to substantially increase the initial funding levels for the three policy areas, it will mark a major policy shift.

We have no objection to increased spending to reduce Japan’s carbon emissions and reverse its demographic decline, as both are important challenges.

We also understand the need to discuss the future of national defense policy in response to the changing security environment.

But the fact is that Japan cannot expect to achieve strong economic growth as its population keeps shrinking.

It is irresponsible for the government to resort to massive debt financing by banking on future tax revenue growth.

We strongly urge the government to secure stable revenue sources by raising the rates of primary taxes and cutting low-priority programs and projects.

Kishida needs to realize that Japan’s budget approach has reached a major turning point and confront the enormity of this challenge.

Any attempt to seek public support for policy decisions to increase the burden on taxpayers cannot succeed without public trust in politics.

Kishida cannot hope to win public trust unless he can clear up doubts over his decision to hold a state funeral for slain former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as well as the LDP’s relations with the Unification Church, now formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 3