In time for the Palestinian presidential election on Sunday, Tokyo plans to extend a 6.75 billion yen ($61 million) package to support reconstruction and help ensure a fair vote, sources said.

Japan hopes to increase its leverage in the Middle East with the goodwill gesture.

``Now is a good time to extend our assistance, now that things are getting more stable,'' said a Foreign Ministry official. ``We want to win more confidence from the Arab world.''

Of the package, 6.6 billion yen is to be extended for projects after the election, mainly for building roads and schools as well as to provide financial assistance for the Palestinian autonomous government.

The rest will be spent to support the election: 120 million yen is slated for public relations and U.N. activities, while another 30 million yen will go to a think tank for exit polling to make sure the election is conducted fairly.

The government will send an election-monitoring team consisting of 23 members including Foreign Ministry officials and headed by Katsuyuki Kawai, parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs.

Later this month, Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura will visit Israel and Palestine.

Tokyo also plans to dispatch Tatsuo Arima, special envoy in charge of Middle East issues, to the region for occasional visits to gather information and promote ties with government leaders there.

In addition, Tokyo plans to enlarge an annual confidence-building conference by inviting political and business leaders from both Israel and Palestine to Japan.(IHT/Asahi: January 6,2005)