The Finance Ministry on Saturday proposed a state budget of ¥88.55 trillion for fiscal 2009, the largest ever, signaling an all-out effort to cushion the nation from the impact of what is expected to be a global recession.
But fiscal reform efforts will be temporarily shelved to deal with the economic crisis.
The proposed general account budget for fiscal 2009 starting in April is 6.6 percent, or ¥5.49 trillion, higher than the initial 2008 budget and representing the third-largest expansion on record, eclipsing the ¥84.99 trillion budget proposed in fiscal 2000.