Putting their spat aside for the time being, the ruling and opposition camps got together in the House of Representatives on Tuesday to approve an 81.79 trillion yen budget for fiscal 2003.
The budget was approved in a plenary session and was immediately sent to the House of Councilors.
The Lower House's endorsement ensures that the budget will be enacted after 30 days, even if the Upper House fails to approve it. In this case, it would take effect at midnight April 2, two days after the end of fiscal 2002.