TOKYO, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Japan's cabinet on Thursday approved a record-high 97.45 trillion yen (830 billion U.S. dollars) budget for fiscal 2017, with soaring social security costs and military spending weighing on the country's already-tattered fiscal health.
According to the draft budget, the fiscal year starting from April 2017 will see a record-high 73.93 trillion yen (629 billion U.S. dollars) earmarked for policy spending in the general account of the Japanese government.
Among the major outlays, spending on social security will rise to some 32.47 trillion yen (276 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for a third of the total budget, on the back of the increasingly aging society of Japan.
Spending on pensions are expected to reach 11.5 trillion yen (98 billion U.S. dollars), up 1.5 percent compared to the amount allocated by the initial budget of fiscal 2016, and medical expenses to rise by 2 percent to 11.5 trillion yen (98 billion U.S. dollars).
Defense spending, another major outlay, will hit a record-high of 5.13 trillion yen (44 billion U.S. dollars), up 1.4 percent compared to the current year's initial budget, and rising for the fifth straight year since Abe took office in 2012, a growing concern for Japan's neighboring countries.
The defense budget will cover the planned establishment of a Marine Corps-like amphibious force at the end of fiscal 2017 and a new sea-based ballistic missile interceptor which has been co-developed by Japan and the United States.
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