Tokyo: Japan is considering providing an additional ¥50,000 (RM1,657) worth of cash benefits to low-income families with children as part of measures to be finalized later this month to ease the pain of inflation. local media reported on Friday (March 10).
The news comes after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed his ruling coalition last week to draft necessary measures over the next two weeks.
Demands from politicians will force the Kishida government to spend even more, which could increase public debt burdens, especially ahead of elections such as local elections scheduled across the country in April.
The Liberal Democratic Party and its smaller coalition ally Komeito are aiming to draft their own proposal next week before finalizing measures that include a repeat of the 50,000-yen payment the government first adopted last year.
NHK reported that the subsidy per child will be targeted at low-income single-parent households and households exempt from resident tax.
Japanese households grapple with increasing pressure on their cost of living amid rising energy and food inflation.
A series of massive stimulus packages has exacerbated the industry’s heaviest public debt, more than twice the size of Japan’s economy, the world’s third largest economy.
For the time being, the government is expected to utilize emergency reserves allocated to next year’s budget. But further spending could weigh on Japan’s debt problems.
The main opposition parties will also submit bills to parliament to provide the same cash benefits as the ruling party.
Household spending in Japan fell 0.3% year-on-year in January, government data showed Friday, versus the median market forecast for a 0.1% decline.
On a seasonally adjusted month-to-month basis, household spending increased by 2.7% for the first time in three months, up an estimated 1.4%. – Reuters
