The opposition parties' objections to the extra fiscal 2008 budget, which was put together to deal with the unexpected seriousness of the economic downturn, center on the ¥2 trillion in cash handouts originally conceived by the LDP's coalition partner, New Komeito, last summer during the final days of the Yasuo Fukuda administration. At the time, it was believed that a general election would be called in the fall, and the handout was seen as a sort of bribe to get the electorate to stick with the coalition, the premise being that if the opposition won the election there would be no handout.

With the election put off indefinitely, this reasoning no longer applies, but no matter. Surveys indicate that as much as 80 percent of the populace thinks the handout is a mistake. Few people seriously believe the ostensible reason for it, which is that it will stimulate the economy. Of course, that doesn't mean they will refuse it if it's offered. Nobody ever gets upset over free money.

Or maybe they do. Two weeks ago on the Nihon TV variety show "If I Were the Prime Minister . . . ," host Hikaru Ota of the comedy duo Bakusho Mondai proposed that the handout be increased to ¥300,000 per person, saying that the ruling coalition's idea of ¥12,000 (¥20,000 to kids and old folks) will not only be ineffective in recharging the economy, but is actually counterproductive. Ota's proposals on the show are usually outlandish, but because the format is based on parliamentary debate, with two sides arguing over the "legislature," some interesting ideas emerged.