Japan Govt Debt Climbs to Record 1,317 T. Yen

   Tokyo, Feb. 10 (Jiji Press)--The outstanding balance of Japanese government debt hit a record high of 1,317,636.5 billion yen at the end of 2024, the Finance Ministry said Monday.
   The combined balance of Japanese government bonds, borrowings and financing bills swelled by 7,198 billion yen from the end of September last year.
   The increase mainly reflected a massive supplementary budget compiled by the government to finance its comprehensive economic policy package late last year. Nearly half of necessary funds were covered by additional JGB issuance.
   Of the latest total, ordinary JGBs increased by 5,690.8 billion yen to 1,071,004.7 billion yen and borrowings expanded by 2,321.9 billion yen to 46,881.2 billion yen, while financing bills decreased by 2,700 billion yen to 97,199.5 billion yen.
   In its budget bill for fiscal 2025, the government plans to issue 28,649 billion yen of new JGBs, the lowest figure in 17 years. Still, debt servicing costs are estimated to hit a record high, reflecting the Bank of Japan's interest rate hikes.

(2025/02/10-20:08)

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