Japan’s ruling Democratic party plans to introduce a supplementary budget of up to $55bn to pay for further stimulus measures aimed at combating the impact of the strong yen and kick-starting the flagging economy.
The move highlights growing concerns that the Japanese economy is stagnating in the face of weakness in key export markets and a strong yen, and that more needs to be done despite the government’s currency market intervention on September 15.
Naoto Kan, the prime minister and a fiscal hawk who has warned that Japan could become the next Greece, has been hesitant to adopt bold stimulus measures for fear of pushing the nation further into debt.