Japan's Fiscal 2027 Budget Requests Rise Sharply, Poised for Fourth Record
Japanese ministries' budget requests for fiscal 2027 are running significantly above the 122 trillion yen sought a year earlier for fiscal 2026, according to figures released on August 21. If realized in full, initial-budget appropriations would set a fourth consecutive record high. Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae's administration has kept a new economic-growth investment framework free of caps and is moving recurring expenditures previously funded by supplementary budgets into the initial budget, lifting the overall request volume. The defense ministry is seeking about 8.9 trillion yen, a record, and METI about 7.7 trillion yen.
The aggregate budget requests submitted by Japanese ministries for fiscal 2027 are significantly higher than the 122 trillion yen sought for fiscal 2026, according to figures released on August 21. If realized in full, initial-budget appropriations would mark a fourth consecutive year of record highs. The government plans to close the budget-request window by the end of August and will finalize the initial budget plan at a cabinet meeting before year-end.
Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae's administration has declined to set a cap on request amounts for a newly established economic-growth investment framework and has decided to fold recurring expenditures previously funded through supplementary budgets into the initial budget; these policy choices have inflated the overall scale of requests. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's application, including special accounts, totals about 7.7 trillion yen, of which roughly 4.5 trillion yen relates to the investment framework. The Defense Ministry, which plans to deploy interception drones and other equipment, is seeking about 8.9 trillion yen, a record high.
The prime minister has begun coordinating a cabinet reshuffle planned for mid-September.