The ruling coalition agreed Wednesday to exclude high-income households from its plan to give out ¥100,000 ($886) in cash and vouchers for every child age 18 and under as part of the government's latest COVID-19 stimulus package.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who heads the Liberal Democratic Party, and Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of the LDP's coalition partner Komeito, agreed there would be a cap of ¥9.6 million on annual income to qualify for the measure.
The handouts had been the subject of political wrangling for several days. Komeito had pushed for their inclusion in the stimulus package after making handouts the focus of its campaign pledges in the general election last month.