Japan approves record budget amid debt worries

Japan approved Friday a record trillion-dollar budget, seeking to aid an economic recovery but also fuelling concerns about its swelling national debts.
The cabinet outlined spending measures of 92.3 trillion yen (1.0 trillion dollars) for the next financial year starting in April, focusing on improving social welfare and cutting public works spending, government officials said.
The budget aims "to protect livelihoods with a philosophy shifting from concrete to people," Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama told a news conference.
"I will do my best to avoid a double-dip recession," the premier said.
His government predicted that Asia's biggest economy would grow 1.4 percent next year, marking the first expansion in three years.
It was the first budget unveiled by Hatoyama since he took power in September after his Democratic Party's landmark election victory over the long-ruling conservatives.