Govt will likely provide ¥50,000 handouts to low-income households

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:13 JST, September 7, 2022

The government will likely provide ¥50,000 to households with low incomes that are exempt from residential taxation as part of measures to cope with soaring prices for energy and other necessities, government sources have said.

The government is expected to include the support plan in a relief package to be compiled by the headquarters for comprehensive measures on prices, wages and living conditions headed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday.

The government is expected to use about ¥900 billion to finance the project, drawing on the budget reserve for the current fiscal year, according to the sources.

With the lingering impact of price increases, the government will emphasize energy and food products as a key area for countermeasures.

The government also plans to increase the current ¥1 trillion in temporary grants for local development, which are used to fund local governments to implement their own price control measures, they said.