Diet passes record budget

Japan’s parliament has passed a record budget for fiscal 2014.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the roughly 950-billion dollar budget would return Japan’s economy to strength.

He said it was the mission of his so-called Abenomics to bring recent wage increases to all Japanese.

Abe also said he would make sure Japan’s economy rebounds quickly from next month’s sales tax hike.

Japan’s sales tax will rise from 5 to 8 percent.

Analysts have expressed concerns about possible harm to Japanese consumer sentiment.