Japan's ruling coalition officials on Tuesday called for a fresh spending package to cushion the economic blow from the Ukraine crisis, which has hit households and retailers by driving up already rising energy and food prices.
The coalition also urged the government to offer payouts to pensioners to ease the pain from the COVID-19 pandemic, a sign Tokyo will be slow in weaning off crisis-mode support for the fragile economic recovery.
"We'll proceed with deliberations, taking into account the ruling coalition's proposal," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters, when asked about the payout idea.