A record extra budget worth at 13.9 trillion yen (147 billion U.S. dollars) was passed in Japan's parliament Friday, setting to reverse the downward trend of the recession-hit economy.
The Japan's largest-ever extra budget was blocked at the opposition-controlled upper house earlier Friday, but got passed through a revote in the more powerful lower house, where the ruling bloc enjoyed a comfortable majority.
The extra budget for the fiscal year 2009, which started April 1, will finance most of a stimulus package announced by Prime Minister Taro Aso, which totaled 15.4 trillion yen or about 3 percent of Japan's gross domestic product.
The Japanese government has allocated funds for public work projects, the health sector and clean energy development under the budget. Aso said the budget will help to boost Japan's gross domestic product growth about 2 percentage points in fiscal 2009.
However, the opposition believed many of the budgets are unnecessary and lavishing taxpayers money and they questioned whether it would be effective to boost the economy.
Since five of the six related bills needed to implement the extra budget have yet to clear the upper house, Aso is likely to extend the Diet session from next Wednesday to early August, which analysts say would be a buffering time for Aso.
A general election has to be held by September. The main opposition Democratic Party of Japan has pressured Aso to call a national poll at an early stage, while the ruling bloc is still pondering over the best timing to dissolve the Diet.
(Xinhua News Agency May 29, 2009)
