Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to unveil a $140 billion economic stimulus package to address a range of challenges from inflation to wage growth, following his election promises to alleviate a cost-of-living crunch.
The package will add up to ¥21.9 trillion, according to public broadcaster NHK, a fraction larger than last year’s array of measures. The package will include ¥13.9 trillion of spending from the general account, NHK said. Together with private sector spending, the impact of the package overall is expected to be around ¥39 trillion, the report said.
The proposed plan is expected to be approved by the Cabinet Friday, following Ishiba’s return from South America where he attended a series of summit meetings. The compiling of the package with an extra budget to follow are an important test of Ishiba’s ability to proceed with policy now that his ruling coalition only has a minority in parliament.