The Diet on May 2 enacted the first supplementary budget for fiscal 2011. Worth ¥4.015 trillion, the extra budget is aimed at pushing reconstruction measures in the Tohoku-Pacific region, which was devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The Kan administration now faces the more difficult task of getting a second, and much larger, supplementary budget passed.
The first extra budget earmarks ¥1.2 trillion for public works projects to restore damaged roads, ports and agricultural fields; ¥362.6 billion for temporary housing; and ¥351.9 billion for removal of debris. No bonds will be issued.
The government transferred ¥2.489 trillion, originally set aside to pay for the government's share of the nation's basic pension plan, to the supplementary budget. Because this move could reduce the perceived reliability of the pension system, the government must act quickly to make up for the loss in the pension-related fund.