概算要求、１１０兆円規模　防衛・社会保障費膨らむ―来年度予算

　国の２０２３年度一般会計予算で、各省庁からの概算要求総額が１１０兆円規模となる見通しとなったことが２３日、分かった。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よる社会保障費の自然増に加え、防衛費も過去最大となる見込み。年末の予算編成段階で要求額はさらに膨らみそうだ。
　財務省は各省庁からの要求を今月末に締め切り、予算編成作業を本格化させる。コロナ禍の長期化により、２２年度当初予算は１０７兆５９６４億円と１０年連続で過去最大を更新したが、２３年度当初予算案も２２年度を上回る可能性がある。（2022/08/23-20:49）

General-account budget requests from Japanese government ministries and agencies for fiscal 2023 are expected to reach around 110 trillion yen, it was learned Tuesday.
   The expected large total reflects growing debt-serving costs due to measures to deal with the novel coronavirus pandemic, as well as a rise in social security spending attributable to the aging of society. Defense spending is also expected to hit a record high.
   As unspecified amounts of funds are set to be sought for some items in the budget requests, the total could balloon further by the time the government finalizes its fiscal 2023 budget late this year.
   The Ministry of Finance will accept budget requests until the end of this month and then start full-fledged work on drafting the fiscal 2023 budget.
   For fiscal 2022, the government's initial budget totaled 107,596.4 billion yen, marking a record high for the 10th straight year amid the prolonged pandemic. It seems possible that the fiscal 2023 initial budget will renew the record again.