Staff writer

As the government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party prepare their next set of economic stimulus steps, much of the focus is on the methods and extent to which fiscal pump-priming will be utilized.

A comprehensive stimulus package of at least 10 trillion yen is expected to be drawn up after the fiscal 1998 budget is enacted by the Diet, with a general outline of steps to be unveiled by the LDP as early as this week. But the LDP agreed Monday to exclude mention of any large-scale income tax cuts for the time being.