http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20081008TDY01304.htm
*DPJ to approve govt's supplementary budget* The Yomiuri Shimbun The Democratic Party of Japan decided Tuesday to approve a supplementary budget for fiscal 2008 that contains the government's emergency economic measures. The budget now looks certain to pass Wednesday at the House of Representatives' Budget Committee with approval by the ruling coalition, the DPJ and others. It will then be swiftly submitted to the lower house's plenary session and pass the house the same day. After that, it will be discussed in the House of Councillors and is expected to be enacted Oct. 16. Now that the budget, which has been given immediate priority by Prime Minister Taro Aso, looks set to be enacted, the focus of national politics likely will shift to the timing of the lower house dissolution and next general election. The supplementary budget is worth about 1.81 trillion yen. One of its key policies is the establishment of a new credit guarantee system for small and midsized companies. The approval of the supplementary budget would mark only the second time the DPJ has done so, following the supplementary budget in fiscal 2004 that covered rebuilding costs following the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Earthquake. The People's New Party likely will back the budget, but the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party remain opposed. The DPJ left the decision on the budget entirely to its leader Ichiro Ozawa, who on Tuesday told the party's Policy Research Committee chairman, Masayuki Naoshima, of his intention to approve it. "If we don't approve the supplementary budget in the current financial climate, the decision might be seen as putting priority on the political situation," a senior DPJ member said, adding the approval also is aimed at urging Aso to act quickly to dissolve the lower house. The ruling coalition parties have said they want to explain the reason for putting the budget forward at the upper house's Budget Committee on Thursday and to see the budget enacted after three days of discussions from Oct. 14 to 16. Another budget-related bill is likely to be enacted at the same time as the supplementary budget. The bill is for a law for an emergency subsidy to cover a loss of about 65.6 billion yen in tax revenues at local governments due to expiry of the temporary rates for the gasoline tax for one month from April. That bill looks set to be approved at the lower house's Internal Affairs and Communication Committee by a majority from the coalition, the DPJ and others. Meanwhile, at a meeting of the lower house's Rules and Administration Committee on Tuesday, the ruling coalition suggested that discussions on the bill to revise the new Antiterrorism Law for extending the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission on the Indian Ocean should start Thursday at the lower house's plenary session, beginning with an explanation of the bill and a question-and-answer session. But the opposition parties refrained from replying. The earliest possible date for enactment of the bill is seen as late October. Therefore, some in the coalition have suggested the next election campaign likely will start on Nov. 4 and the voting would be on Nov. 16 at the earliest. === Aso: LDP, DPJ must clarify stances Prime Minister Taro Aso on Tuesday said it was essential to define contentious issues to be debated between the ruling coalition and the Democratic Party of Japan in anticipation of a general election. After doing so, it will be necessary to make it clear to the public which side--the ruling Liberal Democratic Party or the opposition Democratic Party of Japan--has the capacity to hold the reins of government before the dissolution of the House of Representatives leading to a general election, the prime minister told a session of the lower house Budget Committee. (Oct. 8, 2008) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
