Japan’s ministries and government agencies involved with space development have requested a budget of 339.7 billion yen ($4.04 billion) for the financial year starting April 1, 2011, a rise of 0.2 percent from the current year.
However, this figure contains a supplementary discretionary request of 77.7 billion yen that masks a roughly 10 percent drop in the amount of the request from the prior year, according to the Secretariat of Strategic Headquarters for Space Policy, which released the figures on Sept. 1.
According to the secretariat, the request is in line with the “Fiscal Management Strategy” announced in June by the ruling Democratic Party Cabinet to impose a fixed 10 percent policy-related spending cut across all government offices.
The supplementary request of 77.7 billion yen is in line with a subsequent Cabinet order of July 27 that supplementary funds be made available for programs and initiatives that help stimulate Japan’s economy.
The annual state budget is normally drafted by the end of December in order to have it ready for approval by the Diet before the following April.
