Most of the countries across the globe have already launched stimulus packages to eliminate the devastating consequences of the coronavirus. Following the example of Europe, the Asian countries have also taken measures to combat COVID-19.
On Monday, April 6, Japan unveiled the country’s largest-ever $990 billion stimulus package to help struggling businesses and households deal with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Notably, the economic package amounts to 20% of the country’s GDP. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to use all economic tools to cushion the world's third-biggest economy from the coronavirus pandemic.
According to preliminary estimates, the stimulus package will total 108 trillion yen ($989 billion) which is far exceeding the one compiled during the financial crisis of 2009. In that period, it came in at 56 trillion yen in size, with fiscal spending of 15 trillion yen.
Experts believe that the stimulus measures will amount to 26 trillion yen. What is more, the amount of the stimulus package has surpassed investors’ expectations. According to economists, such unprecedented stimulus measures are meant to prevent the economy from sliding into a recession.
Shinzo Abe pointed out that the package would include cash handouts worth 6 trillion yen for households and small businesses hit by the coronavirus. He also announced a state of emergency in Tokyo and six other economic hubs due to the growing number of COVID-19 cases.
Japan will issue deficit-covering bonds to help finance the stimulus. Earlier, the Japanese government planned to release more deficit-covering bonds of almost 149 trillion yen from an extra budget since June 2020.
