Tokyo  - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso on Thursday vowed create 1.4 to 2 million new jobs in the next three years to pull the domestic economy out of the worst recession in the postwar era.

Aso's long-term policy aims at increasing the nation's real gross domestic product (GDP) by 120 trillion yen (1.2 trillion dollars) and create 4 million new jobs by 2020.

Aso unveiled a plan to invest in low-carbon technology, expand nursing-care facilities and the workforce caring for the nation's ageing population, and improve medical services.

In the short run, the Japanese government plans to compile the nation's largest-ever stimulus package of 15.4 trillion yen (154 billion dollars), or 3 per cent of the GDP, to help overcome the recession. The supplementary budget for the current fiscal year which started on April 1 is to be formally announced Friday.

Whether the government can implement the supplementary budget, however, depends on the outcome of general elections to be held by September.

Japan's premier, whose support rate dropped below 10 per cent in February, is enjoying an increase in his approval rate to above 24 per cent after North Korea's rocket launch, Japanese media reported. (dpa)