Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet on Friday approved a ¥13.1 trillion draft of a supplementary budget to finance a fresh economic stimulus package designed to assuage the fallout of rising prices.
Amid growing public frustration toward the Kishida administration, the prime minister appears to be eager to regain popularity with the relief package, claiming it is designed to “give back” increased government revenue from taxes in recent years.
Yet the extra budget will rely mostly on the issuance of about ¥8.9 trillion new bonds. This will bring the value of government bonds issued this fiscal year through March to a total of ¥44.5 trillion, or 35% of all government revenue, highlighting Japan’s debt-ridden fiscal management.