Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to announce a package of new spending measures tomorrow to boost the economy, the Nikkei newspaper reported yesterday, without saying where it obtained the information.
Abe is likely to probably give details of the measures at a news conference the same day that Japan’s ￥96.7 trillion (US$855 billion) budget for this fiscal year is expected to become law, the newspaper reported.
The new measures might include shopping vouchers, an increase in pay for nursery school teachers and public works projects, according to the newspaper.
Japan’s economy contracted in two of the past three quarters and sentiment among consumers, merchants and businesses have slumped. Abe might say this week he plans to front-load spending measures under the nation’s regular budget, allowing the government to finance more projects this year, the Nikkei said.
The government would probably decide on the size of stimulus and whether to proceed with a planned sales tax rise after seeing figures for first-quarter GDP growth to be released on May 18, the newspaper said.
Some members of Abe’s party favor a new stimulus package of about ￥10 trillion, according to the Nikkei.
A spokesman at the Japanese prime minister’s office was not available for comment when contacted outside regular office hours.
Prices in Japan did not rise last month, reinforcing just how far the nation remains from reaching the Bank of Japan’s 2 percent inflation goal. Stripping out energy and food costs, the gauge rose 0.8 percent from last year, according to a statistics bureau report on Friday last week.
Japan’s economy has weakened or is showing signs of weakness, according to 26 percent of corporate leaders in a Nikkei survey carried out this month.
That is up from 6.9 percent in an earlier survey at the end of last year, and respondents cited sluggish personal consumption and a stronger yen as factors weighing on the economy, the newspaper said.
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