By Takaya Yamaguchi
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s government is in the final stages of assembling a stimulus package worth 21.3 trillion yen ($135.38 billion) to help households cope with persistent inflation, a draft seen by Reuters showed, in what would be the largest stimulus since the COVID pandemic.
The package, which will far exceed the previous year’s 13.9 trillion yen, reflects Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s expansionary fiscal and monetary policy stance, but comes as markets are increasingly worried about the scale of borrowing needed to fund her stimulus plans.
The package will include general account outlays of 17.7 trillion yen and 2.7 trillion yen in tax cuts, according to the draft.
It will be funded by an expected rise in overall tax revenue, as well as an additional issuance of government bonds, though the size of the issue has still to be finalised.
Including private-sector funds that will get a boost from the planned government spending, the total package size will reach 42.8 trillion yen, the draft said.
The package will allocate 11.7 trillion in public funds for measures to curb rising prices and boost consumption. A further 7.2 trillion yen will go towards crisis management and sectors deemed crucial to economic security.
Local media reported that the government would give 20,000 yen per child to each family on top of existing child allowances, offer income tax breaks and reduce the gasoline tax rate as part of the package.
Public broadcaster NHK first reported the size of the stimulus package.
The cabinet plans to approve the package on Friday and a supplementary budget to fund it as early as November 28, aiming to secure parliamentary approval by the end of the year. The prime minister’s office was not immediately available to comment.
Takaichi has pledged to create a large spending package to mitigate households’ pain from rising living costs and boost investment since taking office last month.
Her administration has also promised to promote investment in industries like artificial intelligence, semiconductor chips and shipbuilding.
Market expectations that Takaichi will pursue huge spending backed by low interest rates have fuelled a sell-off in the yen and Japanese government bonds.
($1 = 157.3300 yen)
(Reporting by Takaya Yamaguchi, Leika Kihara and Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Stephen Coates and Kate Mayberry)
