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Japan's parliament opens amid pressure for polls
By SHINO YUASA,Associated Press Writer AP - 2 hours 6 minutes ago
TOKYO - Japan's parliament convened Monday for a 150-day session amid calls from the opposition for snap elections that Prime Minister Taro Aso has vowed he will not hold until after he deals with shoring up the country's fragile economy.
In the lower house, Aso's Cabinet submitted an extra budget worth 4.8 trillion yen ($52 billion) to stimulate the recession-hit economy. He will also submit a record 88.5 trillion yen ($962 billion) budget for the next fiscal year starting in April 2009 to the parliament later in the month.
"I strongly believe the passage of these budgets as quickly as possible is the first step to boost the economy," the prime minister said.
Aso's popularity has plummeted to about 20 percent since he took office in September 2008, underlining growing public frustration over his handling of the economy, which is expected to show no growth over the next year.
Along with Japan's contracting economy, the country's benchmark stock index plummeted a staggering 42 percent in 2008, the steepest fall ever, amid a deepening global recession. Japan's top manufacturers, such as Sony Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp., are cutting jobs and production to cope with a prolonged downturn.
Aso is also facing mounting pressure from opposition lawmakers to call snap elections. But the prime minister on Sunday said he will not do so until the budgets and related bills are passed by parliament.
Ichiro Ozawa, the leader of Japan's largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, renewed his call for Aso to step down.
"We will protect people's lives, and hope to gain support through a victory in elections," Ozawa said at the party's headquarters.
In the supplementary budget, Aso included a cash payout worth 2 trillion yen ($22 billion) to spur spending. If carried out, that would mean a 64,000 yen ($700) payment for a family of four. The budget also has tax cuts and aims to create jobs.
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