Prime Minister Taro Aso, who unveiled a 26.9-trillion-yen boost in late October, will hold a news conference on Friday to announce the rise, the top-selling Yomiuri Shimbun said.

The package announced earlier includes tax cuts, benefits sent directly to households and loans for small businesses.

Additional programmes would include measures to help people who lose their jobs, the Yomiuri said.

Japanese companies had long championed employment security but news on steep job cuts are making headlines every day amid a rapidly shrinking economy.

The government also aims to facilitate bank loans to smaller companies by enhancing a bill to inject capital into ailing banks, the daily said.

Under an earlier plan, banks would be able to receive public funds of up to two trillion yen pre-emptively to shore up their capital bases, which are being hurt by a credit crunch and a slump in the value of their shareholdings.

But the government aims to hike the amount six-fold to 12 trillion yen, it said.

No confirmation of the report was immediately available from the government. -- AFP