By Leshi Adebayo
As part of its economic stimulus plan to ease the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Japanese Government has said it will share ¥100,000 cash, vouchers or both to citizens who are aged 18 years and below.
This was made known in a report by Yomiuri Newspaper, saying the government will tap into its reserves in state treasury to fund the cash payouts.
Authorities also said the plan will not lead to a huge issuance of government debt.
Report has it that the New Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida’s administration is considering offering cash payouts to low-income households and temporary workers.
The newspaper also revealed that details were being worked out by the ruling party to actualize these plans.
A senior economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, Masaito Koike said, “Compared with the previous blanket payout covering all households, more of the money could be funnelled into consumer spending this time because it targets those in need of cash.”
However, some are skeptical about how effective the handouts will be boost the economy.
It could be recalled that in April 2020 the government gave away the same amount to all residents in Japan, but most chose to save it rather than spend which led to a little boost in the country’s economy.
The economic stimulus package, worth hundreds of billions of dollars, is scheduled to be created by the end of November.
Under this plan, households will be entitled to receive 100,000 yen per child regardless of household income around spring 2022.
