The Cabinet on Friday approved a 48.2 trillion yen ceiling for core policy-related outlays in the fiscal 2005 budget, kicking off the annual scramble by government ministries and agencies for public funding.
"We wait, pitch our project, try to find out how much we can safely ask for and come again next week," said an Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry bureaucrat, who stood fanning himself during an hourlong wait in a Finance Ministry hallway.
All ministries must make their final requests by the end of August. And then negotiating begins, because policymakers must divide the money by December to cover rising health-care costs, measures to stimulate the economy and the growing debt.