Tokyo - The Japanese government and the ruling coalition parties finalized an additional stimulus plan Friday to pull the nation's economy out of the worst recession of the postwar era.

   Japan's third stimulus package since September is to inject 15.4 trillion yen (154 billion dollars), equivalent to 3 per cent of the gross domestic product, into the world's second largest economy in what is considered the nation's largest-ever stimulus plan.

   Including other non-spending measures and loan guarantees, the package totals 56.8 trillion yen.

   The government is expected to submit a supplementary budget for the current fiscal year that began on April 1 to parliament on April 27.

   Prime Minister Taro Aso said the fresh measures are intended to "avert a freefall of the economy at all costs, secure jobs and alleviate people's pains, and boost Japan's future growth," according to media reports.

   To finance the extra budget, the government would issue deficit-covering bonds worth about 8 trillion yen and construction bonds, bringing the total amount of bond issuance in fiscal 2009 to a record-high of 44 trillion yen.

   Aso also plans to revise Japan's consumption and gift taxes to increase tax revenues, while corporate and income tax revenues would likely be cut amid worsening economy.

   Analysts expected that the amount of new bonds would exceed tax revenues in the current fiscal year for the first time since fiscal 1965, when Japan resumed issuing government bonds.

   The stimulus measures are to encourage ecologically friendly facilities and products, help create jobs, stimulate consumption, assist companies' funding and provide support for child-raring, the government said.

   Aso intends to focus on environmental policies by granting "eco-points" that give 5-13 per cent discount on the purchase of eco-friendly home electronics.

   On buying a hybrid car, consumers can receive a rebate of up to 250,000 yen if they scrap gasoline-powered cars older than 13 years.

   The Japanese premier on Thursday promised to create 1.4 million to 2 million new jobs in the next three years, while in aiming in the long term to increase the nation's real GDP by 120 trillion yen (1.2 trillion dollars) and create 4 million new jobs by 2020.

   The government's stimulus plan helped boost Tokyo markets Friday, pushing the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average above the 9,000-points level for the first time in three months.