Japan's powerful lower house passed the fiscal 2009 budget, worth a record 88.5 trillion yen (912 billion U.S. dollars), on Friday along with four related bills.

The passage made it certain that embattled Prime Minister Taro Aso can finally achieve its much-awaited enactment by the end of the current fiscal year on March 31.

Under the Constitution, the budget will be enacted 30 days after being sent to the House of Councillors even if the upper house, which the opposition parties control, refuses to vote on it.

Kyodo News quoted sources close to the premier as saying that Aso is looking to instruct the ruling bloc in early March to work on large-scale additional steps so he can officially announce them prior to the Group of 20 financial summit in London slated for April 2.

Source: Xinhua