Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and key Cabinet members agreed Monday to consider compiling a second supplementary budget in another attempt to rev up the nation's sputtering economy, government officials said.
The agreement was reached during a meeting between Koizumi and Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa, fiscal policy chief Heizo Takenaka and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda.
The move comes as calls mount from within the ruling bloc, led by Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party, for additional fiscal spending amid a sagging economy and a budding recession.
Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, the prime minister hinted for the first time that he may demand a second extra budget, reversing his earlier stance.
"The (first) supplementary budget just passed, so I'll listen to various opinions and then decide," Koizumi told reporters outside his official residence.
Over the weekend, Takenaka also hinted at opening the government's pocketbook, saying on a TV program, "I do not deny the possibility" of more fiscal spending.
The Diet on Friday approved a 3 trillion yen extra package for the year to March, only to face immediate calls for further pump-priming.
The compilation of another extra budget would probably force the government to issue bonds beyond 30 trillion yen -- a level Koizumi pledged not exceed during his campaign for the presidency of the LDP.
During Monday's meeting, Koizumi and the three Cabinet ministers agreed that the nation's economy is now in a severe state due to the global economic slowdown following the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, the officials said.
"It is difficult to formulate another extra budget because of the lack of financial resources," Shiokawa told reporters after the meeting. "Today, we exchanged our basic views and agreed to think further."