The government will review a plan to offer allowances to families with children starting in fiscal 2010 -- a signature pledge of the Democratic Party of Japan's election campaign -- Cabinet members said Wednesday.

Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii told a news conference that whether to set an income limitation for the allowance program "could be a point of argument" among Cabinet members, at a time when the two-month-old government is struggling with budget constraints for the year starting April.

During the election campaign, the DPJ promised to provide monthly allowances of 13,000 yen in fiscal 2010 and 26,000 yen from fiscal 2011 for each child of junior high school age or younger, regardless of income levels.

The review is partly due to differences of opinion within the ruling coalition over the framework for the allowance program.

Fujii said policies mapped out in the DPJ's campaign platform are "important" but added, "We still have to think about the amount of money" for each of them.

The DPJ's junior coalition partners -- the Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party -- have called for an income cap to be applied to the program, which would require 2.7 trillion yen for fiscal 2010 if monthly cash payments of 13,000 yen are given to all families with children of junior high school age or younger.

Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan also said that the allowance program and the planned abolition of provisional gasoline and other automobile-related taxes will be the subjects of the Cabinet's budget reexamination.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, however, signaled that the government would stick to its initial plan, telling reporters not setting an income limit is "a fundamental principle" and he wants to continue to discuss the matter along this line.

The remarks came a day after the Cabinet outlined a basic policy for a planned second extra budget for fiscal 2009 and the budget for fiscal 2010.

Amid a shortfall in tax revenue, the Cabinet on Wednesday initiated the process of sorting out economic policy priorities for fiscal 2010 under the leadership of Kan, also state minister for national strategy, and economic and fiscal affairs.

Yoshito Sengoku, state minister in charge of administrative reform, said Wednesday at a House of Representatives Cabinet Committee session that Japan's tax revenue is likely to fall to around 38 trillion yen or even lower in the current fiscal year to March 31, far below the initially estimated 46.1 trillion yen.