Japan OKs 112 trillion yen FY 2024 budget, size shrinks as COVID wanes

Japan on Friday approved a 112.07 trillion yen ($787 billion) draft budget for fiscal 2024, marking the first drop in 12 years as COVID-related emergency funding was trimmed, but outlays for defense, social security and debt-servicing all swelled to a record high.The budget, although smaller than the record 114.38 trillion yen allocated for the current business year to March, is still the second-largest, underscoring the urgency for debt-ridden Japan to rein in spending and restore its fiscal health.Debt-servicing costs ballooned to 27.01 trillion yen, a level unseen before, as the governme…READ FULL ARTICLE