Japan eyes fresh $1.1 trillion stimulus to combat pandemic pain

Japan will compile a fresh stimulus package worth 1.1 trillion U.S. dollars that will include a sizable amount of direct spending to cushion the economic blow from the coronavirus pandemic, a draft of the budget obtained by Reuters showed on Wednesday.

The stimulus, which will be funded partly by a second extra budget, will be on top of a 1.1-trillion-U.S.-dollar package already rolled out last month, putting the total amount Japan spends to combat the virus fallout at 234 trillion yen – roughly 40 percent of Japan's gross domestic product.

The government's 117 trillion yen (1.1 trillion U.S. dollars) in fresh stimulus, to be compiled on Wednesday, will include 33 trillion yen in direct spending, the draft showed.

To fund the costs, Japan will issue an additional 31.9 trillion yen in government bonds under the second supplementary budget for the current fiscal year ending in March 2021, according to the draft.

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