Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared his virus-response package to be the world’s biggest, yet much of it remains stuck in Japan’s aging administrative pipeline, blocked by paperwork, complexity and a lack of staff.
Almost 40 percent of the funds budgeted for cash handouts to households still haven’t reached people despite their approval in late April, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, citing figures to the end of last week.
As for business loans and job-protection subsidies, other key measures in Abe’s ¥233.9 trillion (about $2.2 trillion) package, only 14 percent of the budget earmarked for smaller firms has been lent out, and just 5.8 percent of aid has reached companies maintaining their payrolls.