Japan's debt hits record 1,346.6833 trillion yen at end-June

2026-08-10

The Finance Ministry said on the 10th that Japan's so-called national debt, the sum of government bonds, borrowings and government short-term securities, stood at 1,346.6833 trillion yen at the end of June 2026. It rose 2.8407 trillion yen from the end of March 2026, marking a record high.

Outstanding government bonds rise

The outstanding balance of ordinary government bonds, which mainly need to be repaid with tax revenue, stood at 1,110.8839 trillion yen, up 6.5855 trillion yen from the end of March. Of this, GX, or Green Transformation, economy transition bonds, which fund decarbonization investment, totaled 5.1173 trillion yen, an increase of 268.7 billion yen. Government short-term securities used for short-term financing stood at 94.3994 trillion yen, while borrowings from financial institutions and others totaled 40.5374 trillion yen.

Debt seen at 1,492 trillion yen by end-fiscal 2026

Japan's national debt at the end of fiscal 2026, reflecting the supplementary budget for fiscal 2026 passed in June, is expected to swell to 1,492.8 trillion yen. The government continues fiscal management that cannot cover spending with tax revenue alone and makes up the gap with debt including government bonds.

Fiscal needs worry markets

The Sanae Takaichi administration will cut the consumption tax rate on food to 1% for two years from April 2027 and combine that with payments equivalent to 1 percentage point to make the rate effectively zero. The prime minister has said the roughly 5 trillion yen in funding needed will be secured without relying on deficit-financing bonds. In financial markets, concerns over expansionary fiscal policy are keeping alive the risk of rising interest rates. In addition to the consumption tax cut, market confidence will hinge on how far the government can rein in national debt, given expected future fiscal needs such as a review of defense spending.

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