After just getting out of the state of emergency a few days ago, Japan considers another stimulus package for fighting the effects of the pandemic. The new aid package is said to be worth $1.1 trillion (117.1 trillion yen), and will be partially funded by a second extra budget. Also, 31.9 trillion yen (approximately $296 billion) worth of government bonds will be issued.
Alongside with the first one, the total amount spent to combat the virus is around $2.18 trillion (234 trillion yen), or 40% of the country's GDP. It will be close to the size of the US package - $2.3 trillion, the largest one ever on record.
If the initial aid package went to cash payouts to households, and measures to fix the pandemic damage, the second stimulus would be for medical spending, for paying the rent of the firms and helping the students who lost their jobs.
Prime Minister Abe said that 10 trillion yen ($93 billion) would be used only for emergency spending, while 33 trillion yen is for direct spending.
Besides the second stimulus, the government is taking into consideration stimulus measures to boost the tourism industry, set to start in July. The “Go To Campaign” will have a budget of 1.7 trillion yen ($15.8 billion), and is meant to subsidize domestic travel and restaurants' coupons. They consider releasing vouchers for souvenir shops, meal tickets, and a price reduction for event tickets. The measures will be implemented by the number of tourists.
The market reacted to the news with Japan225 closing higher by 0.39%.
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Sources: the-japan-news.com, Bloomberg.com, investing.com
