Details Revealed On $184 Bil. Extra Budget
NHK has learned the details of the Japanese government's extra spending package. The third supplementary-budget draft is aimed in part at tackling the coronavirus pandemic. It's worth more than 19 trillion yen, or 184 billion dollars, and covers the current fiscal year that ends March 31.
The government plans to finalize the draft on Tuesday.
The package earmarks 42 billion dollars for preventing a further spread of coronavirus infections.
112 billion dollars will fund structural reform to achieve a "virtuous cycle" in the post-pandemic economy.
30 billion dollars will be spent on disaster preparedness.
In a related development, government officials say tax revenue for fiscal 2020 is expected to fall by 77 billion dollars from the initial forecast to 530 billion. The shortfall is due largely to worsening corporate earnings.
The government plans to issue additional deficit-covering bonds to secure enough funding. That would raise the total issuance of new government debt this fiscal year to a level topping 1 trillion dollars for the first time ever.
