Lower House Passes Draft Extra Budget To Address Surging Prices
The Lower House of the Japanese Diet has approved a draft supplementary budget for this fiscal year to finance an emergency package designed to address surging fuel prices among other issues.
Lawmakers deliberated on the draft budget of 2.7 trillion yen, or roughly 21.2 billion dollars, at a plenary session on Friday after the chamber's Budget Committee passed it earlier in the day.
The main governing Liberal Democratic Party said a subsidy program for oil wholesalers to curb rising fuel prices is an important measure to protect people's livelihoods.
But the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party criticized the draft budget for being too late, too small and having no substance.
The party argued the draft could not support people struggling with both higher prices and the coronavirus pandemic.
The draft was passed with support from the governing coalition and the opposition Democratic Party for the People, and sent to the Upper House.
It earmarks 9.2 billion dollars for the fuel subsidy program and 11.9 billion dollars for reserve state funds.
The coalition hopes the Upper House will approve the draft by the end of this month to enact the legislation.