TOKYO: The Japanese government is expected to draft a fiscal 2020 general-account budget worth over 102.5 trillion yen, informed sources said Friday.

The figure would be larger than the record high of some 101.5 trillion yen for the fiscal 2019 initial budget, exceeding 100 trillion yen for the second consecutive year.

This is because social security spending will hit an all-time high due to a rise in medical and nursing care costs reflecting the aging of society and growth in expenditures for a program to make nursery and kindergarten services free of charge, the sources said.

The government will also likely see record defense spending as it is working to develop capabilities to deal with threats in new fields such as space and cyberspace, according to the sources.

Some 1.8 trillion yen will be allocated for a special quota for economic stimulus measures to cushion the impact of the consumption tax hike to 10 pct from 8 pct in October this year, the sources said.

Tax revenue in fiscal 2020, which starts next April, will be projected to top 63 trillion yen, up from the estimated 60.2 trillion yen for fiscal 2019, thanks to the consumption tax hike, the sources said.

The draft budget is slated to be adopted by the cabinet on Dec. 20.

JIJI Press