Dec 13 (NHK) - The Lower House of Japan's Diet has passed a supplementary budget bill worth around 91 billion dollars to pay for a new stimulus package.
The bill was approved at a plenary session of the Lower House on Thursday, with a majority vote cast by the Liberal Democratic Party, its coalition partner Komeito, and two opposition parties -- the Japan Innovation Party and the Democratic Party for the People.
The bill was sent to the Upper House for final approval.
Because the governing coalition has a majority in that chamber, the bill is expected to be enacted during the current Diet session, which ends on December 21.
During a debate before the vote, Asano Satoshi of the Democratic Party for the People said the DPFP will support the budget plan because it has reached an agreement with the coalition parties that the minimum annual income for taxation will be raised from the current 1.03 million yen, or about 6,660 dollars, and that an additional tax on gasoline will be scrapped.
The DPFP promised to work for these two policy changes in its campaign for the October Lower House election, when the coalition parties lost their majority in the chamber.
Asano went on to say that an opposition party capable of proposing constructive policy ideas is essential for the Diet to hold in-depth discussions about Japan's future.
The supplementary budget would pay for measures aimed at cushioning the impact of inflation, such as subsidies for electricity and gas bills. There would also be cash handouts for lower-income households who are exempt from paying residential tax.
The bill would also cover projects for rebuilding infrastructure damaged by the powerful earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula at the beginning of the year.
The coalition parties presented a separate bill for introducing the amendments related to the quake during a Lower House Budget Committee session earlier on Thursday, in line with requests by the Constitutional Democratic Party. The largest opposition party has been seeking greater support for reconstruction projects on the Noto Peninsula.
The secretariat for the Lower House says this is the first time since 1996 that the chamber has approved a budget bill following amendments made during debates at the Budget Committee.
