The Japanese government is finalizing its budget plan for the next fiscal year. It is expected to remain high, only slightly lower than the largest-ever budget allocated for the current fiscal year.

NHK has learned that government officials are likely to agree on the budget of about 112.07 trillion yen, or about 781 billion dollars. It would be the second largest in history and about 16 billion dollars less than the initial budget for this year.

Social security costs will rise because of an increase in benefit payments for the aging population. The defense budget will be bigger than the initial figure for this year, excluding the allocation for strengthening defense in the future.

Tax revenue is expected to be about 485 billion dollars. This is the same level as the forecast tax revenue for the current fiscal year, estimated in the supplementary budget.

But a shortfall of about 244 billion dollars is likely even if other revenue sources are added. The government plans to cover the gap by issuing government bonds. This indicates that a dire fiscal balance will continue, with more than 30 percent of total fiscal resources relying on bond issuance.