Senior members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Sunday butted heads over the size of a supplementary budget it is urging Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to compile to support Japan's sagging economy.
LDP Secretary General Taku Yamasaki, appearing in a debate show on NHK TV, said the extra budget should be compiled within Koizumi's 30 trillion yen annual cap on issuance of government bonds.
"Although the 30 trillion yen limit is to be applied beginning in fiscal 2002, we should respect it from this year," Yamasaki said. That move would limit the government to only 1.7 trillion yen worth of bonds for the rest of the current fiscal year through March 2002.