Japan: Japan gov't debt hits record high for 10th straight year.

Shotlist FILE: Tokyo, Japan - January 2025 1. Various of pedestrians in Shibuya district FILE: Tokyo, Japan - January 2026 2. Various of buildings, pedestrians FILE: Tokyo, Japan - Dec 16, 2025 3. Various of National Diet building FILE: Tokyo, Japan - Date Unknown 4. Various of building, sign of Bank of Japan FILE: Tokyo, Japan - Nov 20, 2025 5. Various of pedestrians FILE: Tokyo, Japan - Date Unknown 6. Aerial shots of city view, traffic Storyline Japan's central government debt stood at 1,343.84 trillion yen (about 8.58 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of March, hitting a record high for the 10th consecutive year, data from the Ministry of Finance showed Friday. The debt level rose 20.13 trillion yen from the end of the previous fiscal year. A breakdown shows that outstanding government bonds amounted to 1,207.22 trillion yen, up 24.33 trillion yen, while borrowings stood at 44.32 trillion yen and short-term financing bills totaled 92.3 trillion yen. Kyodo News reported that Japan's government continues to rely heavily on debt to finance its operations as rising prices and higher interest rates drive up policy-based expenditure. Meanwhile, under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's so-called "responsible and proactive public finances," moves such as compiling supplementary budgets and issuing additional government bonds to address inflation have further added to the country's debt burden. [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]