Japanese Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii following a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday said that the government plans to allocate an additional 1 trillion yen (US$11 billion) to the fiscal budget for 2010.

At a news conference in Tokyo, Fujii told reporters that to achieve Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's request of earmarking 2 trillion yen for stimulus measures, the original budget would need bolstering for the fiscal year starting April 1, 2010.

Fujii stated that the additional funds may come from extra reserves, from the reviewing of existing budgets, or by way of reallocating the 2011 budget, but was uncertain as to whether the extra spending would significantly alter the size of the original budget, which amounts to some 95 trillion yen.

The Finance minister reiterated on Tuesday that the government would stick to its aim of keeping fresh debt issuance below 44 trillion yen for the next fiscal year.

"The 44 trillion yen is a promise the Prime Minister has made to the public in view of the current economic situation, not two or three years ago," Fujii told the press after the Cabinet meeting.

The budget, aimed at supporting new jobs and regional economies, may be compiled as soon as next week, Fujii said.

(Xinhua News Agency December 22, 2009)