Japan Gives Up on Cash Handout Idea for Citizens; Govt to Examine Measures to Help Combat U.S. Tariffs, Rising Prices

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:58 JST, April 17, 2025

The government and ruling parties decided on Wednesday to abandon the idea of providing a cash handout to all citizens, according to government and ruling party officials.

The idea of cash payments without income restrictions, which was floated as a measure to help combat U.S. tariff measures and high prices, was rejected amid growing opposition amongst the general public. The government and ruling parties decided that it would be unwise to implement the idea before the House of Councilors election in summer, according to officials.

The Liberal Democratic Party had proposed a cash handout of ¥30,000-¥50,000 per person as the main part of the government’s major economic stimulus package, while Komeito had called for ¥100,000 per person. However, there was growing sentiment among LDP officials against the idea amid uncertainty over the effectiveness of the handouts and concerns over the loosening of fiscal discipline. There is also a limited timeframe for deliberation of the fiscal 2025 supplementary budget.

The government has decided that it will not compile a supplementary budget for the cash handouts, but will implement measures by using reserve funds included in the fiscal 2025 budget to tackle rising prices.

There is an opinion within the ruling parties that the government should aim to reduce consumption tax imposed on food and other items which are seeing higher prices. As related laws need to be amended to reduce the tax rate, discussions are expected to continue toward year-end when tax system reforms are talked.