The Diet approved a record 114.3812 trillion yen budget for fiscal 2023 on Tuesday, with measures to tackle the declining birth rate and enhance the nation's defense capabilities at the forefront of the plan.
The budget was passed by a majority in a plenary session of the House of Councillors in the afternoon, following a final question and answer session in the upper house Budget Committee, which Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attended with all of his Cabinet members.
During the Budget Committee session, Kishida reiterated the importance of possessing counterattack capabilities that would enable Japan to attack missile-launch bases and other targets in enemy territory for self-defense purposes. Such capabilities would serve as a "shield" to protect the public from missile attacks, Kishida said.
