国际英语新闻:Japan to approve 40 bln USD extra budget to support reconstruction efforts, bolster SMEs

TOKYO, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- A supplementary budget worth 4.47 trillion yen (40.77 billion U.S. dollars) for fiscal 2019, earmarked in part to underpin reconstruction efforts in Japan after a series of natural disasters, is likely to be approved by parliament next week, lawmakers were quoted as saying Friday.

The extra budget, which includes 2.31 trillion yen (21.07 billion U.S. dollars) allocated for ongoing reconstruction efforts in the wake of Typhoon Hagibis, the most powerful typhoon to hit Japan in decades in October, along with other natural disasters, will be deliberated from Monday and is set to be approved on Thursday.

Small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) will also be catered to through the extra spending plan, which has set aside 384.7 billion yen (3.51 billion U.S. dollars) in a bid to increase performance, as well as spending on other projects.

Public elementary and junior high schools, meanwhile, will also be provided with financial support from the supplementary budget to the tune of 231.8 billion yen (2.11 billion U.S. dollars), to help enhance education in IT and communications areas by fiscal 2023, according to the budget's outline.