Takeo Hiranuma, minister of economy, trade and industry, said Tuesday he believes an extra budget of 5 trillion yen needs to be compiled this fall to stimulate the moribund economy.
"As a politician, I think it necessary to compile a sizable supplementary budget to deal with the current state of the economy," Hiranuma said at a news conference.
Hiranuma acknowledged the move would make the government issue more than 30 trillion yen in bonds in fiscal 2001, which would break the cap for fiscal 2002 set under reform initiatives put forward by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Some politicians are pushing to attain the target this fiscal year, which began in April.
In urging the budgetary step, Hiranuma repeated that the envisaged budget should not focus on traditional pump-priming measures such as public works but instead on measures to create new industries and jobs, safety nets for small and midsize companies, and incentives for technological innovation.
Hiranuma said the 5 trillion yen budget should be compiled during an extra Diet session to convene next month.