概算要求、１１０兆円超へ　コロナ対応で過去最大―来年度予算

　国の２０２２年度一般会計予算の概算要求総額が、１１０兆円を超える見通しとなった。２１年度予算の要求総額（１０５兆４０７１億円）を上回り、４年連続で過去最大となる。新型コロナウイルス対策に伴う国債費の増加や高齢化に伴う社会保障費の自然増が主因だ。各省庁からの要求を今月３１日に締め切り、予算編成作業を本格化させる。
　財務省は、国債の利払いや償還に充てる国債費を２１年度当初予算比２７．３％増の３０兆２３６２億円要求する。新型コロナ対策で国債発行残高が増加したためで、要求額としては過去最大。また、２１年度当初予算で５兆円を計上したコロナ対策の予備費については、予算額を示さない「事項要求」とする。各省のコロナ対策予算などでも事項要求が認められており、年末までの予算編成過程で総額が膨らみそうだ。（2021/08/26-16:26）

Fiscal 2022 general-account budget requests by Japanese government agencies and ministries are expected to exceed 110 trillion yen for the first time, hitting a record high for the fourth straight year, informed sources said Thursday.
   For fiscal 2021, the request amount totaled 105,407.1 billion yen. The estimated growth in the budget requests for fiscal 2022, which starts next April, chiefly reflects a rise in debt-servicing costs and a natural increase in social security spending reflecting the aging of the country's population, the sources said.
   The Ministry of Finance will accept budget requests until the end of this month and later start full-fledged work on drafting the fiscal 2022 budget.
   The MOF plans to set the sum of funds to cover debt-servicing costs at a record 30,236.2 billion yen, up 27.3 pct from the fiscal 2021 initial budget, as the issuance of Japanese government bonds grew for financing coronavirus measures.
   Meanwhile, the ministry will likely refrain from setting a specific amount for reserve funds for COVID-19 measures. In the fiscal 2021 initial budget, 5 trillion yen was earmarked for such budget reserves.