Society

Japan eyes additional stimulus package to spur virus-hit economy

Oct 14 (Kyodo) - Japan is considering an additional economic stimulus package focusing on boosting consumption dampened by the novel coronavirus pandemic, government sources said Tuesday.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is expected to instruct officials to draw up the specifics next month at the earliest, with the draft of the government's third supplementary budget for fiscal 2020 to be compiled by the end of the year to finance the policy measures, the sources said.

The draft extra budget is likely to be submitted to next year's ordinary Diet session convening in January, during which the initial budget for the next fiscal year from April 2021 is also set to be discussed.

Part of the new countermeasures in the upcoming package will be funded by the fiscal 2021 budget, according to the sources.

Among the envisaged steps is extension of "Go To" campaigns, under which the government covers part of the costs of domestic tourist trips and dining out to encourage consumption and help revive tourism and food services, two sectors hit hard by the pandemic, the sources said. The programs are effective through January.

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