Budget estimated at 2.7 tln yen lawmaker
PM Kishida faces pressure over inflation as election nears
Government to announce relief measures on Tuesday
More spending would add to industrial world39;s biggest debt
TOKYO, April 21 Reuters Japan39;s ruling coalition on Thursday agreed a supplementary budget to support lowerincome households and small firms, signalling more spending for the heavily indebted nation as it battles inflationary pressures for the first time in decades.
In a first phase, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida39;s Liberal Democratic Partyled LDP government aims to set out on Tuesday relief measures worth 1.5 trillion yen 11.7 billion.
They will include oneoff 50,000 yen cash payouts per child for lowincome families and expanding subsidies to fuel wholesalers, a preliminary document seen by Reuters showed.
The governing coalition, which faces upper house elections pencilled in for July 10 as the economy flags and voters struggle to cope with soaring energy costs, also aims to ensure stable supplies of oil and basic foods, according to the draft.
News of the extra budget whose total value Keiichi Ishii, secretary general of the LDP39;s smaller ally, the Komeito party, estimated at 2.7 trillion yen 21 billion was unexpected.
Part of it will be used for emergency measures and the rest set aside to offset the impact of surging costs of fuel and other products. More than 1 trillion yen will be earmarked for maintaining the current fuel subsidy scheme from…