The Japanese government is to offer a cash payment of ¥100,000 (US$928) to every resident, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced yesterday, as measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic decimate the world’s third-largest economy.
“We are moving quickly to deliver cash to all people,” Abe said in a televised news conference to explain his decision to expand a state of emergency nationwide.
An initial plan to provide three times that amount to households that have seen incomes slashed because of the pandemic was abandoned and Abe apologized for the confusion.
“We think the most important thing is to proceed with this speedily,” Japanese Minister of Finance Taro Aso earlier yesterday said of the cash payout, adding that the government hoped to start payments next month.
Japan has seen relatively few cases and deaths compared with hot spots in Europe and the US, but a recent spike in Tokyo — which yesterday logged a daily record of 201 new cases — has sparked concern.
Abe initially declared a state of emergency in seven regions of the country, but on Thursday expanded it to include the entire country.
He said that the decision was taken to restrict domestic travel during the Golden Week holiday late this month and early next month, when many Japanese leave cities to visit family elsewhere.
The state of emergency hands regional governors the power to demand that people stay indoors, but stops far short of restrictions seen elsewhere, as there is no legal basis for punishment of transgressions.
Authorities would reassess the situation on May 6 at the end of the public holiday, Abe said, adding: “If we can all refrain from going out, we can drastically reduce the number of patients in two weeks.”
“The future depends on our behavior,” Abe said, adding that his goal for everyone to reduce social contact by at least 70 percent was not yet being achieved.
The Japanese economy was heading for a recession even before the coronavirus crisis, contracting by 1.8 percent in the final quarter of last year.
Since then, tourism has dropped by as much as 90 percent; industry and trade have ground to a halt; and the pandemic forced the postponement of the Tokyo Summer Olympics, which were expected to provide a boost to the economy.
Last month, Abe unveiled a package of stimulus measures totaling about US$1 trillion to protect jobs, bolster the medical sector and ease the pain for working families.
Deliveries of two masks per household also began yesterday, although the move has been greeted with much derision online.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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