7 Jul 2011

Japan approves second emergency budget

12:10 pm on 7 July 2011

The government of Japan has approved a second budget of 2 trillion yen ($US24.7bn) for reconstruction after the earthquake and tsunami.

The money will be spent on rebuilding and on compensating victims of the Fukushima nuclear crisis.

Japan has huge public debts and will not borrow money from the market for this budget.

The second emergency budget was announced on Tuesday. It will be sent to parliament for approval later this month.

The BBC reports opposition parties have so far signalled they will support the emergency spending.

In May parliament passed a emergency budget worth 4 trillion yen following the earthquake and tsunami on 11 March.

That money is to help fund new housing for tens of thousands of people who have lost their houses. It will also support businesses hit by the disaster.

The quake and tsunami along the north-eastern coast has left more than 20,000 people dead or missing. It is the country's worst disaster since World War II.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has been leaking radiation since the tsunami crippled the reactor cooling systems.

About 85,000 people have been forced to evacuate the area around the plant.