Sunday February 8, 10:38 AM
Japan minister suggests additional stimulus plan
TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's economy minister Kaoru Yosano said Sunday the government may consider offering an extra economic stimulus package if the economy deteriorates further.
"I think that would be a wise move," Yosano told the private broadcaster TV Asahi, when asked whether the government was ready to offer additional stimulus packages if Japan's economic growth for the fourth quarter to December turns out to be bad.
Figures for Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) for the October-December quarter are set to be announced on February 16.
Prime Minister Taro Aso in December announced a stimulus package worth 23 trillion yen (253 billion dollars), in addition to a 26.9 trillion yen package unveiled in October.
The latest stimulus package, included in the budget plan for the fiscal year starting April, is currently being debated by parliament.
Aso has pledged that Japan will be the first developed country to move out of recession, but Yosano said late last month it was impossible to say when Asia's biggest economy would bottom out.
Yosano's remarks came after official figures showed industrial production plunged a record 9.6 percent in December from the previous month as firms idled factory lines in response to slumping exports.
A report on Sunday said Aso will order his ministries to draft a "Green New Deal" this week to counter the twin threats of climate change and the economic downturn.
Aso will order a stimulus package focusing on slashing greenhouse gases at a meeting of his global warming advisory panel Wednesday, the business daily Nikkei (news) said, citing unnamed government sources.
It was not clear whether the "Green New Deal" was included in the already announced stimulus package.
The report came as US President Barack Obama vowed to lead the world on climate change as he set about shredding his predecessor's global warming policies with new measures to encourage the development of fuel-efficient cars.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also called for a "Green New Deal" at a UN climate conference in Poland in December.
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