Japan announces 136 billion euro plan to stimulate economy – Observer

The Government of Japan will formally approve a stimulus plan this Friday, equivalent to 136 billion euros, to increase consumers’ purchasing powerannounced Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

The package of measures, estimated at 22 billion yen and which will have to be subsequently voted on by parliament, intended to stimulate growth economic status of the country.

Japan’s economy grew for the second consecutive quarter, with an increase of 0.2% between July and September, driven by the recovery in consumption.

The plan is expected to include energy subsidies, direct aid to low-income families and tax adjustments, according to Japanese media.

consumption, which represents practically 60% of the economywas the main driver of Japanese gross domestic product growth in the last quarter, rising 0.9%.

This after years of stagnation due to restrictions imposed during to the covid-19 pandemicin addition to the reluctance of the Japanese to spend in the current context of lower wage growth and persistent inflation, which remains at around 2%.

Japan’s consumer price index rose 2.3% year-on-year in October, the 38th consecutive month of growth for the indicator, which has remained above the 2% target set by the Japanese central bank for 36 months.

According to data released this Friday by the statistics office of the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, inflation slowed slightly last monthcompared to the value of 2.4% recorded in September.

Food prices, excluding fresh food due to high volatility, increased 3.8% year on year, 0.7 percentage points higher than the previous month.

The biggest increases were felt in the cost of cereals (13.5%), fruit (6.1%), meat (5%) and cakes and sweets (5%).

Energy costs soared 3.2%, the smoothest annual increase since April, with electricity (4%) and gas (3.5%) rising, while prices for other fuels, including car fuel, fell. 1.1% year over year.

Prices for leisure and entertainment activities rose in October, an average of 4.2% year-on-year, with a 5.5% increase in services linked to this industry.

Public transport was 0.8% more expensive in October than in the previous month, while private transport cost 1.9% more.

Ishiba announced this Friday the plan to stimulate local media, less than a month after the coalition that supports him lost its parliamentary majority.

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