Japan PM Abe to form panel to debate extra stimulus budget: sources

[TOKYO] Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will pull together a new advisory panel to debate the need for a supplementary budget for the coming fiscal year from April to stimulate the flagging economy, sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

It is unusual for the government to discuss an extra budget before the annual budget clears parliament. The budget for the new fiscal year is set to pass the lower house later on Tuesday, after which it will move to the upper chamber for debate.

The prime minister will announce the plan on Tuesday, the sources said.

Abe hopes the move will encourage other countries to embrace more fiscal spending and shift away from austerity, the sources said. If Japan rolls out the extra spending, it could set an example after the Group of 20 nations called for more fiscal spending to help support the ailing global economy at their meeting last weekend.

Abe will convene a panel of experts in mid-March to analyse the world economy and debate the need for an extra budget. The panel will hold meetings about five times in the run-up to the Group of Seven Summit meeting that Japan will host in late May, sources said.

REUTERS