Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa on Friday called on the Diet to quickly enact the 3 trillion yen supplementary budget so the government can support the flagging economy while pursuing structural reforms.
The extra budget for the current fiscal year, which includes 1 trillion yen for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's structural reform proposals and steps to cushion reform-related pain, was submitted to the Diet earlier in the day.
The government hopes to have the package enacted on Thursday.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.