Budget passage seen in 10 days

The fiscal 2001 state budget is likely to be passed by the Diet by March 26, a senior official of the Liberal Democratic Party said Friday.

Speaking at the LDP's Executive Council, Yoshitada Konoike, chairman of the Diet Affairs Committee for the House of Councilors, said, "We are making efforts to have the budget pass March 26."

It is likely the 82.65 trillion yen budget will be passed by that date, given that opposition parties have said they will not reject deliberations on the budget.

The budget for the year starting April 1 includes a record 48.66 trillion yen outlay for measures to bolster the sluggish economy. The House of Representatives approved the budget on March 2.

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