INTERNATIONAL

Japan Plans Stimulus Package: Amid signs that the nation’s economy is slipping toward recession, the government announced that it will include a $9.6-billion increase in infrastructure spending. Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa directed his economic ministers to draft specific spending measures on schools, roads and other public facilities. The package, to be centered on deregulatory steps aimed at lowering prices and boosting imports, is scheduled to be announced about Sept. 20, just before Hosokawa flies to Washington for his first visit there as prime minister. Business leaders have called for additional steps, including a tax cut. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan reported that business sentiment continued to fall in the last three months.