Japan approves emergency budget

The Japanese government has approved a 4 trillion yen ($48.9bn; £29.6bn) emergency budget for disaster relief, after March’s earthquake and tsunami.

The budget is expected to be submitted to parliament later this month, and could be implemented in May.

Authorities say no new bonds were issued to fund the spending, to prevent adding to Japan’s huge public debt.

The government estimates it will cost as much as 25tn yen to rebuild the country.