Tokyo - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso announced a 23- trillion-yen (255-billion-dollar) assistance package for the country's economy on Friday, while warning of a sharpening of the country's recession and a possible re-emergence of deflation.

Consumer confidence in the world's second-largest economy fell to a record low in November, and unemployment is rising at its fastest rate since the "lost decade" of deflation in the 1990s.

The current series of measures is partly aimed at shoring up the status of the approximately one-third of Japanese workers with temporary or part-time contracts.

The Japanese Labour Ministry has called for the introduction of a credit system for employees that have lost their jobs in the current crisis by the end of the year.

Special provision is to be made for employees that also received their accommodation from their employer, and who lost both.

Aso said that tax cuts for homeowners, around 13 trillion yen in support for small-and-medium enterprises and other direct support for businesses were included in the plan.

The Japanese government announced a 26.9-trillion-yen economic stimulus package in October, which has yet to pass through parliament. (dpa)