Japan Unveils $51 Billion Second Economic Stimulus Package; Postpones General Election Until January

October 30, 2008 10:59 a.m. EST

Tokyo, Japan (AHN) - Instead of focusing on politics, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso would rather concentrate on addressing economic issues which led him to announce on Thursday the postponement of the general election. On the same day, Aso bared a $51 billion second economic stimulus package.

The move is expected to buy Aso time to boost the Liberal Democratic Party's popularity which is on an all time low barely a month after the prime minister was elected into office. If an election were held now, Aso's LDP stands to lose the Diet to the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, according to an internal survey made by LDP, the Nikkei newspaper said.

An economic package would go a long way in improving the LDP's ballot chances as it will offer tax reductions and other benefits to struggling Japanese households.

In August, former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda came out with the $120 billion (11.7 trillion yen) economic stimulus package. The second tranche will cut highway tolls and hike loan guarantees to small companies. It will also widen tax-exempt housing loans expected to revive the property sector, increase funding for care of children and the elderly and boost support for jobless young Japanese.

Aso said, quoted by BBC, "In this kind of situation, we need to relieve people's insecurities... We should not be fearful of the violent storm, not should we just stand and let the typhoon blow us away."

Newspapers differ on how long Aso has postponed the general election. The U.K. Telegraph cited January as the earliest date of the election, while BBC said it would be by September 2009. Aso said he will wait for the economic stimulus to take effect before he will announce the election date.