Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto indicated Monday that his government will consider a proposal by a senior Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker for an extra budget of about 6 trillion yen to be compiled for fiscal 1998 to give an additional boost to the nation's fragile economy.
During the day's Lower House Budget Committee session, Hashimoto, also president of the LDP, said he will "of course be paying attention to various opinions voiced by party colleagues as well as private-sector people." He added that the government's priority right now is to make sure that the supplementary budget for fiscal 1997 and the annual budget for fiscal 1998, which has already been submitted to the Diet, are enacted without delay. Fiscal 1998 starts April 1.
He was responding to a question about a remark made Saturday by Hiromu Nonaka, deputy LDP secretary general, who urged the government to start discussing a new extra budget as soon as the fiscal 1998 annual budget clears the Diet, either in late March or early April.