国际英语新闻：Japan's extra budget for economic stimulus enacted

TOKYO, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese cabinet's extra budget for financing a stimulus package worth about 5 trillion yen (59 billion U.S. dollars) was enacted on Friday.

The budget involves 4.4 trillion yen in actual spending. The move is aimed at combating the impact of the increasing strength of the Japanese yen and spurring the deflation-plagued economy.

The bill was voted down at a plenary session of the opposition- controlled upper house earlier on Friday. But, because it had already been approved last week by the House of Representatives, which can override a decision made by the upper house, it successfully cleared the Diet.

The package was aimed to increase the nation's real gross domestic product by about 0.6 percent and has set the creation or protection of between 450,000 to 500,000 new jobs as one of its immediate targets to help drive the economy forward.

In addition, the package will seek to strengthen social welfare by making further provisions for child-rearing, nursing care and other such areas.

Public works projects and a number of measures to bolster small businesses in Japan are also central to the government's plans.

The latest stimulus measures were initiated without increasing the issuance of government bonds.

The new stimulus package came after Kan's Cabinet officially approved a 917 billion yen stimulus package in early September, as Tokyo actively tries to counter the impact of softening export markets and a strong yen that is threatening a fragile recovery from recession.