Abe orders stimulus package, seen totaling 5 T. Yen

November 9, 2019

Tokyo--Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday instructed his cabinet to draw up a package of measures to boost recovery and revitalization efforts in typhoon-struck areas and to prop up the economy.

It is the first time for the government to compile a stimulus package since August 2016. The government aims to assemble the package, expected to total some 5 trillion yen, by the year-end.

"We will draft new economic measures on a 15-month budget basis, in order to speed up postdisaster reconstruction efforts, deal with risks from abroad and boost productivity," Abe told a cabinet meeting.

The move comes amid overseas economic uncertainties stemming from the U.S.-China trade war and concerns about the impact of the Oct. 1 consumption tax hike at home, as well as the aftermath of the recent typhoon disasters.

During the meeting, the prime minister also ordered the compilation of a supplementary budget for fiscal 2019, which started in April.

The extra budget, together with the planned fiscal 2020 full budget and reserves from the fiscal 2019 initial budget, will fund the upcoming economic package.

Through the budget arrangement, "We will make flexible and thorough responses," Abe said.

As a pillar of the new stimulus package, the government will pursue efforts for disaster prevention and mitigation, as well as measures to raise the country's resilience to natural disasters, he said.

Abe said the government will mainly look at flood prevention measures after learning lessons from levee breaches caused by the recent typhoons.

He also said that the economic measures will focus on helping small companies and the agricultural, forestry and fisheries industries to prepare for a possible downturn in the economy.

Steps for establishing infrastructure to accommodate as many as some 60 million foreign tourists a year will also be included in the package, according to the prime minister.

"The biggest issue is the declining population," Finance Minister Taro Aso told the press. "We'll basically consider attaining strong economic growth by overcoming challenges such as the aging society and raising productivity." Jiji Press