Japan approves $490-bn stimulus to fix economy

Tokyo, November 19

Japan’s Cabinet on Friday approved a record 56 trillion yen ($490 billion) stimulus package, including cash handouts and aid to ailing businesses, to help the economy out of the doldrums worsened by the coronavirus pandemic.

“The package has more than enough content and scale to deliver a sense of security and hope to the people,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters in announcing the plan earlier in the day.

The proposal won Cabinet approval in the evening, according to the prime minister’s office. It still needs parliamentary approval. Kishida has promised speedy action, and parliament will convene next month, he said.

Plan includes Cash handouts WORTH $880

• The plan includes doling out $880 each in monetary assistance to those 18 years or younger, and aid for businesses whose sales plummeted because of Covid measures
• The proposal has won Cabinet approval but it still needs parliamentary approval. Japan’s Prime Minister has promised speedy action and said parliament will be convened next month

The plan includes doling out 100,000 yen ($880) each in monetary assistance to those 18 years or younger, and aid for businesses whose sales plummeted because of coronavirus measures.

Japan has never had a full lockdown during the pandemic and infections remained relatively low, with deaths related to Covid at about 18,000 people.

Under the government’s “state of emergency,” some restaurants closed or limited their hours, and events and theaters restricted crowd sizes for social distancing. The world’s third largest economy was already stagnating before the pandemic hit. — AP