Japanese government mulls cash handouts to households to ease virus impact

Mar 19, 2020 | News On Japan

Mar 19, 2020 (Japan Times) - The Japanese government and the ruling coalition are considering providing cash to households in an effort to boost personal spending amid the coronavirus outbreak, sources said Wednesday.

Officials and lawmakers are studying the possibility of extending more than Â¥12,000 ($112) per person, a level the government provided to all Japanese people in 2009 in response to the global financial crisis following the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., according to the sources.

The envisaged cash handouts may serve as a pillar in an emergency economic package the government and the coalition are expected to put together as early as April.

The government and the coalition, which comprises the Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner Komeito, will work out details such as whether the government will give cash to all citizens or limit the recipients to child-rearing and low-income households.

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