Japan's 2010 budget requests submitted by the central government are expected to hit a record high of 95 trillion yen, local media reported Friday.

The highest budget on record came in at 89.15 trillion yen in fiscal 2005, meaning that the requests this year smash that figure by around 5 trillion yen.

When the Democratic Party of Japan was swept into power, it pledged to eliminate wasteful spending and redirect the saved money into welfare programs. Now, with budget requests at a record high, the difficult part starts.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has requested that departments do not request extra money for any areas that were not outlined in the DPJ manifesto.

However, the pledges in the DPJ manifesto are to add an additional 7.1 trillion yen in 2010.

The government now has to start work on finding areas of the budget to slash if it is to keep its promise to rejuvenate the economy and increase welfare spending without breaking the bank.

(Xinhua News Agency October 16, 2009)