Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet on Friday approved a mammoth ¥20.2 trillion economic stimulus package, hoping to kick-start a recovery through public works spending, monetary easing and new growth strategies.
"Ending the yen's appreciation and deflation is critically important to bring the economy out of its slump," Abe explained to reporters the same day.
The stimulus is estimated to drive up Japan's gross domestic product by 2 percent in fiscal 2013, which starts April 1, and create around 600,000 new jobs. But such progress won't come cheap. The raft of policies will cost the government some ¥10.3 trillion, about half of which is to be covered by new construction bonds, according to government officials.