Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Monday instructed his Cabinet and ruling party members to draw up an extra budget for the current fiscal year to finance a stimulus package aimed at accelerating efforts to fight deflation.
The instruction came at an executive meeting between the government and the Democratic Party of Japan, with Kan eyeing further steps to improve employment conditions and promote other measures under the nation's growth strategy, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tetsuro Fukuyama said.
Government sources said the supplementary budget for the year through March could amount to more than ¥4 trillion, while Kan is expected to refrain from issuing any new government bonds to fund the fiscal 2010 extra budget as part of his efforts to restore the nation's fiscal health, the worst among major developed countries.