Japan has passed $19 billion in additional spending, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government seeks to ease pressure on households struggling with soaring everyday costs driven by the Middle East war, AFP reports.

The 3.1 trillion-yen extra budget cleared the parliament — dominated by Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party — sailing through the upper house by 148 votes to 94.

The budget had been approved by Takaichi’s cabinet on Tuesday. She has said the money will go towards easing petrol, electricity and gas costs.

Takaichi announced the supplementary budget plan last month, saying “the situation in the Middle East remains uncertain”.

It was drafted “to ensure we’re fully prepared financially”, she states.

However, Takaichi also says the government expects to secure a stable supply of oil through to next spring. She added that alternative supplies of naphtha, an oil by-product used in a wide range of industries, from outside the Middle East, have recovered to more than 80 per cent of previous levels.