"Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is grappling with the world's largest public debt as an aging population drives up spending on pensions and social welfare. The national debt is predicted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to reach 223 percent of gross domestic product next year. The government needs to sell bridging bonds this and next fiscal years until the sales tax is raised and revenues increase, according to a government statement released today. The bonds will be paid back from future revenues generated by the higher consumption levy, it said."

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