UPDATE 1-Japan govt not bound by Y44 trln JGB cap -spokesman

(For more stories on the Japanese economy click [ID:nECONJP])

* Govt wants to keep 2010/11 new debt issue below Y44 trln

* Noda: Must achieve more than Y10 trln non-tax revenues

* Tax revenues below new JGB issue for 1st time since 1946

* Govt to map out basic policy on budget next week

* Govt aims to compile 2010/11 budget by year-end (Adds quotes, details)

TOKYO, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Japan's top government spokesman said the government would not necessarily be bound by its target of curbing new bond issuance, raising more doubts about its determination to get bulging public debt under control.

"It would not be right if the government was unable to respond to real living conditions just because it needs to stick to the 44 trillion yen ($499 billion)" target, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano told reporters.

Hirano's remarks come days after Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama voiced a similar view, suggesting the government may be backpedalling on its pledge to keep fresh bond issuance below 44 trillion yen for the fiscal year that starts on April 1.

The government wants to limit bond issuance as the country's ballooning public debt is projected to hit 200 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010/11, by far the highest among major developed countries. [ID:nT147988]

But the target appears difficult to achieve given a plunge in tax revenues for the fiscal year to next March as a result of the worst recession in decades.

Deputy finance minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Thursday the government must achieve non-tax revenues of more than 10 trillion yen to realise the target of capping new bond issues.

The government is expected to map out a basic policy next week on the budget for next fiscal year, which ministers aim to compile by the end of this month.

"The economy and the job situation are bad. The basic guidelines for next fiscal year's budget will be compiled with the intention of supporting the economy's recovery and on the government's pledge to give more money to people instead of spending on buildings," Hirano said.

Budget requests by ministers for next fiscal year total a record 95 trillion yen and the government is trying to reduce them.

Issuance of new government bonds will set a record in the current year to March, topping 53 trillion yen, while tax revenues will reach 36.9 trillion yen, falling short of an initial estimate of 46.1 trillion yen.

It will be the first time since fiscal 1946/47 that new debt issuance has exceeded tax revenues. ($1=88.23 Yen) (Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto and Rie Ishiguro; Editing by Michael Watson)