Japans ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) drew up a final plan to expand domestic demand and boost imports in time for Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasones visit to Washington next week LDP officials said. The plan calls for additional fiscal measures worth more than 5000 billion yen a large-scale supplementary budget for the current fiscal year started April 1 and concentration of more than 80 pct of the annual public works budget in the first half of the year they said. Nakasone will explain the measures to U.S. Officials during his visit to Washington starting April 29. The LDP plan will be the basis for a government package of pump-priming measures expected to be unveiled in late May. The LDP said Japan should do more to reduce its trade surplus. Its plan is expected to help increase economic growth led by domestic demand officials said. The government was also urged to review the ceiling on budgetary requests for investment purposes in 1988/89. The government has imposed a five pct cut in investment outlays in the past five years in line with Nakasones avowed policy of fiscal reforms. The plan called on Japan to promote government purchases of foreign goods and private sector imports of manufactured goods by improving import financing and to make clear official procurement procedures for foreign supercomputers. The LDP also said Japan should contribute further to society at large through measures such as doubling its official development assistance to 7.6 billion dlrs in five years or so instead of seven years as the government had originally promised. The government was urged to work out a program to recycle funds from Japans trade surpluses to debt-ridden countries. The officials said the funds to be recycled would include those from the private sector and others provided through the government Export-Import Bank of Japan and Japans Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund. The plan also calls for the government to take steps to help the development of African and other less developed nations. The LDP called for adequate and flexible management of monetary policy such as a cut in interest rates on deposits with the Finance Ministrys Trust Fund and a tax cut to promote plant and equipment investment.
JAPAN RULING PARTY PREPARES FINAL ECONOMIC PACKAGE