Japan Passes 3.1 Trillion Yen Supplementary Budget to Counter Middle East Impact

(Central News Agency, Tokyo, 5th) In response to the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, Japan's Diet passed a supplementary budget for the current fiscal year today. The total amount exceeds 3.1 trillion yen (approximately NT$610 billion). The bill was approved by a majority vote in a plenary session of the House of Councillors, with support from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Nippon Ishin, and the Democratic Party for the People, and was formally enacted.

According to NHK, the supplementary budget was first reviewed by the House of Councillors Budget Committee and then sent to the plenary session for a vote. In addition to the ruling LDP, parties such as Nippon Ishin, the Democratic Party for the People, the Conservative Party of Japan, and the Team Future also voted in favor.

During the debate before the vote, House of Councillors member Kyoko Murata of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan criticized that while the Middle East situation indeed has a major impact on people's lives and work, the supplementary budget's content cannot effectively address livelihood issues such as material shortages and rising prices, nor can it alleviate public anxiety about the future.

She also questioned the fact that the budget committees of both the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors held only one day of deliberation, arguing that the discussion time was too rushed.

In response, LDP House of Councillors member Akira Kato stated that the government was originally promoting policies to make the public feel the positive cycle of the economy, but at this time, the situation in the Middle East deteriorated rapidly. Therefore, the government submitted the supplementary budget with the determination to overcome the crisis. He emphasized that the budget content was fully prepared from the perspective of minimizing risks.

According to the budget details, the government will allocate 100 billion yen as 'Key Support Local Grants' for local governments, expected to be used for measures such as supporting liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) users. Another 513.5 billion yen will be allocated to replenish the reserve funds previously used for electricity and gas bill subsidies, restoring them to their original scale of 1 trillion yen.

Furthermore, the largest item in the budget is the establishment of a new 2.5 trillion yen 'Middle East Situation Response Reserve Fund'. This will serve as emergency response funds for future economic impacts caused by soaring energy prices or other shocks from the Middle East situation.

However, the bill did not receive support from all parties. Opposition parties including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Komeito, the Party to Protect the People from NHK, the Japanese Communist Party, Reiwa Shinsengumi, and the Social Democratic Party voted against it. They argued that the government has not presented specific policy content but has significantly expanded the scale of the reserve fund, lacking sufficient explanation. (Editor: Chen Huiping) 1150605