Japan’s Economic Stimulus Plan Aims To Offer Cash Payment Of Rs 65,000 Per Child

The funding is particularly aimed at recovery from the pandemic, including reviving domestic tourism, the PM has said.

Image: AFP

New Delhi: In a move to aid the recovery from pandemic, the Japanese government and ruling coalition have decided to provide a cash payment of 100,000 yen ($878.73 or Rs65,000) to all children as part of an economic stimulus package.

What’s the new stimulus aimed at?

The payout is aimed to cover all minors up to age 18 regardless of household income for a budget of about 2 trillion yen, the paper reported, according to the Yomiuri newspaper report on Friday.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has promised to compile a "large-scale" stimulus package in November. The economic stimulus package is expected to be drawn up by November19, and estimated to touch several tens of trillions of yen.

The government and the ruling parties hope to pass a supplementary budget for the current fiscal year by December end including funds for the package.

Kishida became party leader and prime minister after Yoshihide Suga resigned just one year into the job. The funding is particularly aimed at recovery from the pandemic, including reviving domestic tourism, the PM has said.

The cash payout was a campaign pledge from Komeito, the junior party partner in Japan's ruling coalition for the election held October 31. It is much different from Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)'s intention to create a virtuous circle of economic growth and wealth distribution.

The LDP had proposed a policy of focusing support mainly on non-regular workers and people in need.

“Providing cash when it is needed is the most appropriate thing to do,” Komeito vice representative Kazuo Kitagawa said at a press conference on Thursday, according to Japan News.com.

Regarding cash handouts for non-regular workers and people in need, the ruling parties are working out the details separately from the payout for children.