The land ministry plans to make applications of the industrial revitalization law easier for small and midsize construction companies, which are struggling due to cuts in public works spending, ministry officials said.

Easier application terms will encourage smaller contractors to reinforce operations through restructuring, the officials said.

The industrial revitalization law is designed to help firms expand or strengthen their operations by offering such benefits as the carry-over of losses and a cut in the registration and license tax.

To become eligible, companies must submit restructuring plans to pertinent government ministries and agencies.

The law has been criticized as a bailout step used only for large-scale companies. To date, it has been applied to companies including Nissan Motor Co., Daiei Inc. and Haseko Corp.

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry plans to ease requirements for application. It believes construction companies should be allowed to treat additional retirement payments as losses when they are made for restructuring and should be given favorable depreciation terms to promote rationalization efforts such as the combination or closure of computer systems.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is considering extending and amending the law, which expires at the end of next March.

The land ministry intends to work with METI on the amendments to make the law more readily applicable to smaller contractors.