Japan to draw up largest-ever stimulus worth 100 billion dollars

Japan to draw up largest-ever stimulus worth 100 billion dollars Tokyo  - The Japanese government plans to draw up a supplementary budget for fiscal year 2009 with an economic stimulus package of more than 10 trillion yen (100 billion dollars), Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano said Monday.

During a meeting with Yosano, Prime Minister Taro Aso ordered him to draft a fresh stimulus plan amounting to more than 2 per cent of the nation's gross domestic product, Jiji Press quoted the finance minister as saying.

The government was expected to finalize the largest-ever spending package in detail on Friday.

Aso has said the new stimulus package, to be implemented over several years, would fund "drastic steps to boost domestic demand and create jobs."

With the fresh stimulus plan, the government intends to offer a safety net for non-permanent employees, expand solar-generated electricity, set up measures to help finance small firms and revitalize rural economies.

The parliament on March 31 approved a record 88.5-trillion-yen (902.74-billion-dollar) budget for fiscal 2009.

Since Aso took office in September, the government has worked out a set of fiscal stimulus steps worth a total of 75 trillion yen. (dpa)

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