TOKYO, Dec 3 (NNN-NHK) – The Japanese parliament passed an additional budget of 28.92 trillion yen (214 billion U.S. dollars), for the current fiscal year, in an effort to bolster the faltering economy and cushion the impact of rising inflation.
The House of Councillors, or the upper house, approved the second supplementary budget of the year through Mar, 2023, yesterday, after the House of Representatives passed it on Tuesday.
As part of an economic package to deal with surging consumer prices and downward economic trend, the budget was approved by the Cabinet on Oct 28.
Soaring prices amid rising inflation in the country, have been a headache for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, whose support ratings hit a record low since he took office in Oct, 2021.
In Oct, Japan’s consumer prices marked a 40-year high, by increasing 3.6 percent from a year earlier, owing to a weak yen, further inflating soaring energy costs, a government report said.
The supplementary programme, which has 3.11 trillion yen earmarked for power and city gas bills, intends to lower utility payments for a typical Japanese household by 5,000 yen per month between Jan and Sept.
As winter approaches, the expenditure plan also includes government subsidies to oil wholesalers, to cut retail prices for gasoline and kerosene, with 3.02 trillion yen set aside to prevent a rise in those prices.
Based on government estimates, such steps are expected to limit the rise in consumer inflation by no less than 1.2 percent.
The government will secure most of the funding by issuing bonds worth 22.85 trillion yen, even as the country’s fiscal health is already the worst among advanced economies, local media reported. (1 U.S. dollar equals 134 yen)– NNN-NHK
