Kishida discloses ambitious inflation-fighting package

Jun 21 (NHK) - Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has said he is planning to roll out a package of measures to fight inflation.

The aim is to curb rising prices of agricultural products and reduce electricity costs.

Kishida made the pledge at the first meeting of a government taskforce to deal with inflation.

He said he would get to work on the comprehensive package worth 13 trillion yen, or about 96 billion dollars.

One part would be aimed at reducing the cost of producing agricultural products by 10 percent.

A funding program would tackle surging prices of fertilizers and animal feed.

The plan would also provide farmers with incentives to engage in environmentally-friendly agriculture.

Kishida touched on electricity costs. He said he will create a system that grants redeemable points to households that have conserved a certain amount of electricity.

Another program would allow utility companies to buy surplus power from businesses.

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