TOKYO, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Japan plans to issue 6.063 trillion yen (54.6 billion U.S. dollars) worth of market-based public offering local government bonds for the fiscal year 2023, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said Tuesday.

The issuance plan for the fiscal year from April 2023 to March 2024 involves a total of 61 local governments across the country, with Ishikawa prefecture set to become a market-based public offering organization starting from the fiscal period, said the ministry.

According to the plan, the individual issuance of bonds for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) is expected to reach 227 billion yen (2.05 billion dollars).

With green bonds accounting for 147 billion yen (1.33 billion dollars), the issuance of social bonds will reach 60 billion yen (542 million dollars), according to the plan.

Joint issuance of green bonds is also expected to reach around 100 billion yen (904 million dollars), it added.

The SDGs, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015, include 17 goals and 169 targets to be achieved by 2030, ranging from poverty eradication and climate action to quality education and sustainable cities and communities.

In recent years, the issuance of ESG bonds has gained popularity in Japan, with a growing number of local governments and companies turning to these bonds as a way to finance sustainable projects and address environmental and social challenges.

The Japanese government has also been actively promoting ESG financing, offering tax incentives and other measures to encourage the issuance of such bonds. Enditem

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