Despite word late last week to the contrary, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said key ministers wouldn't be holding an official meeting Monday on deciding the size of the next stimulus package. Instead, he said, the meeting would wait until Tuesday.
Hirano said Monday he believed the meeting of selected ministers in charge of budgetary matters would be convened prior to the regular Cabinet meeting Tuesday morning.
On Friday, Hirano suggested the basic components of the stimulus package would be finalized by Monday.
Hirano's remarks indicate that differences of opinion still exist in the Cabinet on the size and other specifics of the stimulus, which will be financed by the second extra budget of this fiscal year through March 31.
The Cabinet failed Friday to strike a deal on the size of the package as one of the parties in the ruling coalition, Kokumin Shinto, is pushing strongly for the package to be larger than the proposed ¥7.1 trillion.
Hatoyama said Monday morning he wanted to finalize his decision on whether to stick to the current size by the end of the day.
"I understand (Kokumin Shinto chief Shizuka Kamei) has strong worries over the economic outlook," Hatoyama said. "But we have also been making maximum efforts. . . . I will make the final decision today."
On how to raise extra money for the package, Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said the government may issue construction bonds.
Fujii said he doesn't know yet whether bond sales will be increased if the government decides to prepare a more expensive stimulus package.
"But it may be possible to do that with construction bonds" instead of issuing new debt-covering bonds, he said.
The government is constrained by law to only sell construction bonds to fund public works projects such as building roads and bridges.