Dec 10, 2020 (Japan Times) - Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has doubled down on his bet that promoting domestic travel will keep the economy on a recovery path and that his tenure as leader will continue beyond a single year.
Despite a resurgence in COVID-19 infections that some observers have blamed on Suga’s Go To Travel campaign, the government on Tuesday unveiled a six-month extension of the program as part of an economic stimulus package with an overall value of ¥73.6 trillion.
The latest package, to be funded by a third extra budget and next year’s annual budget, also extends an enhanced furlough program while providing support for medical facilities, homes for older people and cash handouts for single parent families. The move adds to an IMF tally of $12 trillion in global stimulus this year.
Japan's package also looks to shore up corporate cash flows, and promote the development of green and digital technology, two areas Suga is looking to make central themes of his tenure.
The prime minister said the measures would boost the economy by 3.6 percentage points, but didn’t clarify the yardstick or time period he was referring to.
Suga is trying to shore up an economy expected to lose momentum after it clawed back about half of its pandemic losses during faster-than-initially estimated growth in the summer.
With support for his Cabinet falling amid the uptick in virus cases, he needs to balance the need to prop up growth against the risk of fanning the outbreak.
