Since the onset of the novel coronavirus, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has spent more than 90% of its ¥934.5 billion contingency fund on countermeasures intended to safeguard the capital’s economy and keep the virus at bay.
While the money has served its intended purpose, it’s unclear how long it will take to rebuild the fund, much less whether the capital can afford to maintain virus countermeasures if and when another wave of COVID-19 strikes.
The metropolitan government has already begun to slash expenses, reroute money from other designated funds and borrow cash to alleviate the pressure. In the last budget revision approved earlier this month, the city will further subsidize domestic travel to the tune of ¥2.3 billion and issued ¥174 billion in bonds for the first time in nine years.