Japanese premier pleased with budget moderation

Japanese Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki's drive to reform state finances received a boost with an announcement that the increase in next year's budget would be the lowest since World War II.

Mr. Suzuki has stressed often that he is staking his political career after just over one year in office on moves to balance the budget without politically unpopular tax increases.

Finance Minister Michio Watanabe told the Cabinet that requests submitted by government agencies for the 1982 financial year budget equaled a total of $215 billion, a 5.7 percent increase from the current financial year ending next March.