On Aug. 26, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented at a joint meeting of the Liberal Democratic Party’s Foreign Affairs Division and other branches a plan to request 777.9 billion yen in the fiscal 2022 budget. The plan was approved. The amount represents a 11.8% increase from the initial budget requested in fiscal 2021 (695.9 billion yen). The ministry earmarked 30 billion yen for vaccine distribution to developing countries via international organizations. The amount of money allocated for COVID-19 measures totaled 85.7 billion yen.