14% rise in Japan's FY2009 SS budget

The fiscal year 2009 budget for Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's social security including pensions and medical and nursing  care increased 14% to 24,830.0 billion yen ($86.9 billion) compared to  the year earlier.

Within this: 213.9 billion yen was allocated to disease management, up  5.6%, of which: 22.5 billion yen goes to promoting countermeasures  against infectious diseases including a new type of influenza; and 158.7  billion yen for tackling intractable diseases. Projects for hepatitis  and the promotion of AIDS prevention will get 20.5 billion yen and 7.5  billion yen, respectively, and 1.1 billion yen was allocated for  rheumatic and allergic diseases.

23.7 billion yen and 8.6 billion yen, respectively, were earmarked for  cancer prevention and research, and measures against developing  diabetes and stroke, along with the promotion of women's health,  respectively. The budget for innovative drugs and medical devices was  raised by 1.1% to 27.7 billion yen. Within this, 25.1 billion yen has  been allocated for research into new advanced technologies including  regenerative medicine and personalized therapies, and 400.0 million  yen for establishing a world-class infrastructure for clinical research.  In addition, 920.0 million yen has been hypothecated for promoting  the use of generic drugs.