The government will cut new bond sales by the largest margin on record, curb spending across the board and take a sharp bite out of the deficit under the fiscal 2007 draft budget submitted Wednesday.
Such belt-tightening may appear "beautiful," but the draft budget relies on growing tax revenues generated by economic expansion and falls short of addressing how to pay for the enormous needs of the rapidly aging population, experts say.
Under the slogan of creating a "beautiful country," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called for cutting new bond issuances to improve fiscal health, along with other agenda pursuits, including revising the Constitution.