The ¥1.8 trillion fiscal 2008 extra budget aimed at easing the impact of rising oil prices cleared the Diet on Thursday with backing by the opposition-dominated Upper House.
However, the supplementary budget is not designed to deal with the global financial turmoil that boiled over in the United States, and thus the government is expected to take further economic measures in the coming months.
Later the same day, Prime Minister Taro Aso ordered the Cabinet Thursday to come up with an additional economic stimulus package to steer the economy away from the global financial crisis.
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