The 5.677 trillion yen third supplementary budget for fiscal 1998 was submitted Friday to the extraordinary Diet session, and Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa called for a swift passage in his policy speech.
Speaking before the House of Representatives plenary sitting, Miyazawa stressed the importance of the latest economic stimulus package, worth 24 trillion yen, to pulling the nation's economy out of recession. The extra budget, expected to clear the Diet later this month, will partly finance the record stimulus package.
Miyazawa explained that the package, which includes measures to ease the credit crunch, will boost domestic demand with public works and help economically battered Asian countries.