The government has decided to draw up a provisional budget to cover special-account expenses for disaster recovery in April in case the fiscal 2012 budget plan fails to clear the Diet this month because of political squabbling, sources said Sunday.
The measure is aimed at keeping government funds flowing after April 1 to ensure that debris disposal and radiation decontamination work related to the March 2011 disasters will continue without interruption.
The government drafted a new special budget account to fund reconstruction in fiscal 2012 that is being deliberated in the Diet together with the general account budget, which is already being examined for a provisional budget.
The fiscal 2012 draft budget cleared the House of Representatives on March 8 and will be enacted on April 6, even if the House of Councilors fails to vote on it, because the Constitution gives priority to the Lower House decision in such a case.
The provisional budgets, which would be the first since 1998, would cover the first six days of April at the most.
The provisional special-account budget would incorporate part of the planned ¥3.78 trillion reconstruction budget, such as reserve funds to cover unanticipated expenses and operational costs for the Reconstruction Agency, which was established on Feb. 10, the government sources said.