Japan FinMin: Japan ministries' budget requests hit record JPY 105 trln

Japanese Finance Ministry came out with a statement on Thursday, citing that budget requests from Japan’s ministries have hit a record JPY 105 trillion yen ($996.30 billion) for the next fiscal year starting in April vs. 102.8 the previous high, Reuters reports.

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The rise was due to bulging welfare costs to support the aging population, spending to service debt, and rising military outlays in response to China’s growing military presence and North Korea’s missile program.

The piece of news had virtually no impact on the Japanese currency, which erased most losses against the US dollar. The USD/JPY pair trades flat around 106.40 levels, having hit fresh three-week tops at 106.75 on renewed US-China trade optimism.