Japan to pass draft budget for fiscal 2014

TOKYO - The Japanese government and ruling camp on Saturday agreed on a record high 95.88-trillion-yen (about 921.50 billion US dollars) initial general-account budget for fiscal 2014 which will start in April, according to local media.

The budget, which is up from 92.61 trillion yen (about 890.07 billion dollars) in the previous year, came after the country agreed to cut outlays designed to bolster regional economies by 40 percent from fiscal 2013 to 610 billion yen (5.86 billion dollars) in the draft state budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said during a meeting between the government and the ruling bloc grouped the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito Party that they will try to bring about "strong economic growth while ensuring economic recovery" across the country, according to Japan's Kyodo News.

The prime minister's cabinet is expected to approve the draft budget for fiscal 2014 on Tuesday, said the report.