After the Diet passed the regular annual budget Friday, the path is now clear for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to come up with new measures to help an economy reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.
Even though a portion of the ¥102.7 trillion ($950 billion) budget will fund parts of a stimulus package announced in December, it already looks outdated because it was put together before the virus started spreading worldwide.
Now with the budget for the year starting April 1 out of the way, the government looks ready to put together more spending measures to counter the sharp deterioration in the economy as the virus halts assembly lines, empties hotels and restaurants, and keeps shoppers and tourists at home.