Japan passes crucial deficit-financing bond bill
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Buy SPH photosTOKYO (AFP) - Japanese lawmakers on Friday passed a crucial deficit-financing bond bill that will allow Tokyo to pay for a huge chunk of this year's public spending, avoiding the country's own "fiscal cliff".
The bill was a key condition for Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda calling elections, now set for December 16, after he warned large parts of Japanese public life would grind to a halt unless the bill won parliamentary approval.
