Democratic Party

According to the statement of Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano, the government`s economic forecast for the current fiscal year, ending March 31,will not be much different from a preliminary projection of a 3.3 percent contraction it predicted in April. He said the government will compile its budget for the fiscal year from next April based on an assumption that Japan's economy may post growth in that year.

According to an NBC News\Wall Street Journal poll, Brack Obama`s overall job approval rating slid to56 percent, down 5 points from April. Fewer than half of respondents approved of how he was handling healthcare reform and efforts to save GM and Chrysler.

According to survey 58 percent of respondents thought Obama and Congress should focus on keeping the budget deficit down, even if takes longer for the economy to recover.