The Cabinet on Tuesday endorsed early use of a 500 billion yen reserve fund set aside for public works under the fiscal 2000 budget to help rev up the economy.
Of the total, 89.6 billion yen will be spent on relief measures for disaster-hit areas such as Miyake Island and areas affected by the eruption of Hokkaido's Mount Usu, government officials said.
Another 39.6 billion yen will be used for urban development projects such as elevated overpasses and underground electric power cables, 34.2 billion yen for information and telecommunications infrastructure, and 44.3 billion yen for environmental protection.