The administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday compiled a package of new economic measures featuring ¥6.2 trillion in spending to fend off the impact of booming oil and other commodity prices.
With Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the resulting geopolitical tensions accelerating an existing global wave of inflation that has been seeping into the Japanese economy — a situation compounded by a steep fall in the yen — Kishida is ramping up steps to apparently ease concerns of voters ahead of the Upper House election in July.
“We must prevent soaring crude oil prices and (a wide range of other) price hikes from hindering the recovery of social and economic activities from the pandemic,” Kishida said during a news conference Tuesday.