FY 2009 extra budget clears Diet, parties gear up for election+

TOKYO, May 29 Kyodo -
A fiscal 2009 extra budget worth 13.93 trillion yen to boost the economy
cleared parliament Friday, giving a cue to both the ruling and opposition blocs
to step up preparations for a general election that must be held by the fall.

Now that Prime Minister Taro Aso has seen the extra budget, one of his key
bills, through the Diet, he is expected to focus on the House of
Representatives election, which he can call anytime before the terms of its
members expire on Sept. 10.
Since related bills needed to implement the largest-ever extra budget are still
in the Diet, the prime minister will likely extend the Diet session from next
Wednesday to sometime around mid-August.
In a statement issued after the extra budget was enacted, Aso vowed to revive
the flagging economy by implementing economic steps funded by the extra budget
along with measures funded by the main budget for fiscal 2009.
Aso later told reporters, ''Without the passage of the related bills, there
will be problems when implementing (the steps),'' indicating he will not
dissolve the lower house unless the related bills clear the Diet.
On the possible Diet extension, Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura told a
press conference, ''The government needs enough time for it to enact the
budget-related bills and other important bills,'' suggesting that the Diet
session could be considerably extended.
Aso also said he will decide how long the government will extend the Diet after
consulting with his ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner,
the New Komeito party.
The main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, which has rapped Aso's economic
stimulus measures as ''pork-barrel spending,'' has pressured Aso to call an
election soon.
DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama criticized Aso for using efforts to revive the
economy as an excuse for refusing to dissolve the Diet.
''I would like to say (to him), 'Necessary economic steps have already been
taken, so why don't you dissolve the Diet and seek a public mandate?''' said
Hatoyama, who is in position to become the next prime minister if the DPJ wins
the general election.
Hatoyama also slammed the emerging idea of extending the Diet as a mere means
to delay the election, in which the DPJ still has a good shot at ousting the
ruling bloc from power despite a fundraising scandal involving a secretary of
its former chief Ichiro Ozawa.
The extra budget for the fiscal year starting April 1, which is designed to
fund Aso's fresh economic package, passed the lower house on May 13 with a
majority vote by the ruling parties.
The opposition-controlled House of Councillors voted it down in Friday's
plenary session, but the ruling parties were able to have it passed as the
decision of the more powerful lower house takes precedence over the upper
house.
Under the extra budget, the government plans to allocate 2.58 trillion yen for
public works projects and 1.58 trillion yen for measures to create a more
low-carbon, environmentally friendly society.
Aso has said that the fresh economic steps to be funded by the extra budget
will help to boost Japan's gross domestic product by about 2 percentage points
in fiscal 2009.
==Kyodo