Japan Enacts 28.9-T.-Yen Extra Budget for Inflation Fight

Tokyo, Dec. 2 (Jiji Press)--The Diet, Japan's parliament, enacted the government's fiscal 2022 second supplementary budget Friday, calling for general-account spending of 28,922.2 billion yen to finance a comprehensive economic package to fight inflation.

At a plenary meeting of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, the extra budget was approved by a majority vote with support mainly from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its coalition partner, Komeito, and the opposition Democratic Party for the People.

In the budget, which cleared the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, on Tuesday, the government will earmark a total of over 6 trillion yen to ease the burden of higher electricity and city gas fees and rising gasoline and other fuel costs worsened by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The government plans to set aside 4.74 trillion yen as reserve funds that can be used at its own discretion without prior approval by the Diet.

The budget also includes 8,901.3 billion yen for funds that can be utilized over multiple fiscal years.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]