TOKYO (AP) — Japan, home for several major automakers, is considering adopting an incentive to encourage car purchases similar to the “cash for clunkers” program debated in U.S. Congress, a Japanese newspaper reported Wednesday.

The government’s new tax breaks for ecological gas-electric hybrids have already taken effect this month.

The additional measure, which would dole out 250,000 yen ($2,490) to consumers who trade in a car 13 years or older for a more fuel-efficient car, is part of an extra stimulus package expected to be announced soon, the nationally circulated Yomiuri reported.

An official at the Cabinet Office, which is finalizing the plan, said the incentive is not yet part of the package, but the idea may be tossed around at the ministries debating various proposals. He spoke on condition of anonymity as is often the practice among officials instructed not to be named.

Auto stocks rose in morning Tokyo trading, partly on optimism on the report. Toyota gained 1.6 percent to 3,800 yen. Nissan surged 2.6 percent to 476 yen.

Auto issues also got a lift from the stronger dollar, which boost overseas profits when converted into yen. The dollar, declining to a 13-year low at 87 yen levels in recent months, has recovered to 100 yen levels in recent sessions.

Japan’s auto market has been languishing for some time since peaking in 1990, contracting steadily partly because young people generally have less enthusiasm for owning a car. But the decline has worsened since the U.S. financial crisis surfaced last year, sending the nation into a recession.

In 2008, Japanese auto sales fell to their lowest in 34 years at 3.21 million vehicles, down about 6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association. In 1990, annual sales peaked at more than double that figure, reaching 7.78 million vehicles.

Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s biggest automaker, which had been booming until last year, is expecting its first annual net loss since 1950 for the fiscal year ended March 31.

Other Japanese automakers, including Honda Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co. and Suzuki Motor Corp., are also struggling, although they are faring better than their American counterparts.

The auto industry is such an important part of Japan, including a massive network of parts makers, that a boost in car purchases is likely to be effective as a perk for the ailing economy.

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