Japan’s total national debt hits a new high at the end of 2024

On February 10, the Ministry of Finance of Japan announced that as of the end of December 2024, the total “national debt” of national debt, borrowings and government short-term securities reached 1317.6365 trillion yen. It increased by 7.1980 trillion yen from the end of September 2024, setting a record high. The debt balance has swelled due to the new issuance of national debt by Japan to fill the budget shortfall.

The balance of ordinary national debt issuance that needs to be repaid through taxation is 1071.0047 trillion yen, an increase of 5.6908 trillion yen from the end of September. Among them, the balance of issuance of GX (Green Transformation) economic transformation bonds, which issued 350 billion yen in October, reached 3.4970 trillion yen.

In addition to ordinary national debt, the total national debt, including special accounting national debt for fiscal investment and financing and special national debt for donations, is 1173.5559 trillion yen. Government short-term securities used for temporary fund turnover were 97.1995 trillion yen, and borrowings from financial institutions, etc. were 46.8812 trillion yen.