Japan Lower House Passes Draft Extra Budget

Tokyo, May 27 (Jiji Press)--Japan's House of Representatives on Friday passed the government's 2.7-trillion-yen draft supplementary budget for financing comprehensive emergency measures to fight soaring prices exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

At a plenary meeting, the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan's parliament, approved the fiscal 2022 extra budget by a majority vote with support from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its coalition partner, Komeito, and the opposition Democratic Party for the People.

The budget is expected to be enacted Tuesday, following further deliberations at the House of Councillors, the upper chamber.

The budget, to be covered entirely by deficit-covering bonds, includes general-account spending of 2,700.9 billion yen, of which 1.52 trillion yen will be used to replenish reserve funds that have already been used to cover some of the emergency measures.

The budget also features subsidies to oil wholesalers to curb retail fuel prices, which have been boosted by surging international crude oil prices.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]