Japan govt debt rises to record high in September

TOKYO - Japan's government debt registered a record-high 983.30 trillion yen (about $12.4 trillion) at the end of September mainly due to spending on reconstruction following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Finance Ministry data showed Friday.

The debt includes 803.74 trillion yen in government bonds, 125.37 trillion yen in bills to cover short-term funding needs, and 54.19 trillion yen in borrowing from financial institutions, according to reports.  

The outstanding central government debt was up 0.7 percent from three months earlier. The ministry has expected the total amount to top 1,000 trillion yen by the end of fiscal 2012, in March.