Japan's record $1 trillion budget highlights COVID-19 challenge to growth, debt

FILE PHOTO: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga speaks during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan December 4, 2020. Hiro Komae/Pool via REUTERS

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's cabinet approved on Monday a record $1.03 trillion budget draft for the next fiscal year starting in April 2021, the Ministry of Finance said, as the coronavirus and stimulus spending puts pressure on already dire public finances.

The 106.6 trillion yen ($1.03 trillion) annual budget also got a boost from record military and welfare outlays. It marked a 4% rise from this year's initial level, rising for nine years in a row, with new debt making up more than a third of revenue.