Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet is set to approve an economic stimulus package that includes a record 55.7 trillion yen (USD 490 billion) in fiscal investment to aid the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic's impact.
According to reports on Friday, the total package will be worth 78.9 trillion yen, including funds that will not be spent immediately. It will include some of Kishida's signature policies, which aim to both revive the economy and realise the Prime Minister's goal of redistributing wealth by increasing support for households and businesses.
In an extraordinary legislative session slated by the end of the year, the Japanese government hopes to enact a supplementary budget to pay the package, with a budget size of 31.9 trillion yen expected. Handouts of 100,000 yen in cash and vouchers for youngsters aged 18 and under will cost around 2 trillion yen, according to the package's core measures. A further 2 trillion yen will be distributed to low-income families and students, with small businesses affected by the pandemic anticipated to receive financial assistance of up to 2.5 million yen each.
Following a recent substantial drop in the number of daily Covid-19 infections across the country, the government subsidy programme "Go-To Travel," which was stopped last December due to the spread of the virus, will be reinstated to promote the local tourism sector. Care workers, nursery school personnel, and nurses will see their monthly salaries increase by 1 to 3 percent from present levels, as their pay is often regarded as inadequate in comparison to other industries.
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