Japan approves $113B economic package to cushion inflation blow

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) – Japan's government on Thursday approved an economic package of over 17 trillion yen ($113 billion) in an attempt to ease a cost-of-living crisis due to rising inflation.

To fund part of the spending, a supplementary budget will be formed, which is expected to be around 13.1 trillion yen ($87.15 billion). The government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida intends to get parliamentary approval for the budget by the end of November, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.

The total size will likely reach around 37.4 trillion yen (approximately $249 billion) with key features of the measures, including a tax cut of 40,000 yen ($266) per person and 70,000 yen ($466) in payouts to low-income households who are exempt from paying income and residential taxes and would otherwise be left out.

The new measures are likely to curb consumer prices by around 1% as fuel costs will be cut by government subsidies that will be extended to next April.

The Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito will work out details toward the end of the year.

The world's third-largest economy has expanded for the third straight quarter to June, with private consumption and capital spending relatively resilient. Economists, however, expect the growth momentum to lose steam as consumers are increasingly feeling the pinch of inflation.