Japan Aims to Avoid Bond Sale for Economic Package

By Toru Fujioka

Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Japan's Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano said the government should avoid selling more debt to fund an economic stimulus package it plans to release this week.

``We have a common understanding that new debt shouldn't be issued,'' Yosano said at a press conference in Tokyo today, referring to Finance Minister Bunmei Ibuki and Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. He added that policy makers haven't decided how much the measures will cost and how they will be paid for.

Fukuda has said he wants to avoid selling new bonds to fund the initiatives, Ibuki told reporters in Tokyo today. The measures are aimed at providing relief to companies and households facing rising food and fuel costs.

The government plans to determine the size of the package and how to fund it, including whether to compile an extra budget, by the end of the month, Ibuki said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Toru Fujioka in Tokyo at tfujioka1@bloomberg.net