Fiscal policy chief Heizo Takenaka on Friday defended the government's second fiscal 2001 extra budget and its 4.1 trillion yen for public works as necessary to ward off rapid economic contraction.
"We have to take countermeasures to prevent the economy from plunging in the short term," Takenaka told the House of Representatives Budget Committee.
He was responding to criticism from an opposition lawmaker who said implementing the relatively large auxiliary budget is tantamount to backpedaling on the government's vow to restore the nation's finances to health.