(Nikkei BP Group)
(No.1 High-Tech News Site in Japanese)
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| JEIDA Urges Gov't Supplementary Budget of 8 Trillion Yen
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October 16, 1998 (TOKYO) -- The Japan Electronic Industry Development
Association (JEIDA) will recommend that the government devote a total
of 8 trillion yen (US$67.4 billion) to its secondary supplementary budget
for fiscal 1998 to stimulate the country's information and communications
industry.
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A JEIDA official said the underlying reason for more investment in the
information and communications industry is to boost Japan's economic
prospects.
According to JEIDA's estimate, the information and communications industry's
effect of boosting national production is about 1.3-times greater than
that produced by conventional public works projects.
The association said that the industry-related annual public works projects
of 4 trillion yen through 2001 will create 1 million jobs.
In the fiscal 1998 budget, the government initially allocated 250 billion
yen to the industry. It then added 750 billion yen in the first supplementary
budget, so that the total amounts to 1 trillion yen. The proposal is
for an additional investment above the 1 trillion yen.
Of the 8 trillion yen secondary supplementary budget, purchases of personal
computers for all elementary and junior high school teachers accounts
for 3.1 trillion yen and introduction of information systems among local
governments accounts for 1.2 trillion yen.
The information and communications-related budget will first be allocated
to the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of International Trade and
Industry and other ministries and agencies. The budgetary funds will
then be allocated to schools and relevant companies by the Information
Technology Promotion Agency, Japan (IPA) and other ministry-affiliated
organizations.
(BizTech News Dept.)
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