The Ministry of International Trade and Industry presented its fiscal 2001 budget request Tuesday, up 2.3 percent from the previous year to 1.96 trillion yen.

The budget request for MITI -- which in January will become the Ministry of Economy and Industry -- was presented to the Liberal Democratic Party's subcommittee on commerce and industry Tuesday morning. The ministry will concentrate on areas that include information technology and the environment, which are deemed crucial for the "rebirth of Japan."

Of the total, the general account budget request -- which includes 68.5 billion yen earmarked for the rebirth of Japan -- accounts for 983.5 billion yen, up 6.4 percent from the fiscal 2000 budget.

The special account budget request -- 475 billion yen of which is assigned to structural improvement of supply-demand conditions for coal, petroleum and other energy sources and is counted in the general account -- amounts to 1.46 trillion yen, down 0.9 percent from the 2000 budget.

More than 100 billion yen was requested for newly started or expanded projects concentrating on the four areas of IT, the environment, the graying society and urban development, which are covered by the "rebirth of Japan" scheme.

IT-related budget requests nearly tripled from the 2000 budget to 52.6 billion yen, covering projects to help achieve paperless government, develop educational and social infrastructure, promote structural reforms for IT, help small and medium-size enterprises utilize IT and assist the IT revolution in other Asian countries.

Environmental budget requests more than tripled to 15.3 billion yen for new outlays on pollution and energy projects intended to combat global warming through reducing carbon dioxide, saving energy and developing renewable energy sources, as well as to support relevant projects jointly undertaken by business, civil groups and local governments.