Prime minister Shinzo Abe has launched Japan’s first fiscal stimulus since 2016 with a larger-than-expected ¥13.2tn ($121bn) package to repair typhoon damage, upgrade infrastructure and invest in new technologies.
Described as a “15-month budget”, the spending package is one of the largest since the 2008-09 financial crisis, as Japan seeks to fend off weakness in the global economy, drag from a recent rise in consumption tax and the risk of a slowdown after next summer’s Tokyo Olympics.
The package is an implicit acknowledgment that Japan’s economy is still vulnerable despite almost seven years of growth under Mr Abe and marks a return to the free-spending early days of his “Abenomics” stimulus.