March 28, 2020

The ruling Liberal Democratic and Komei parties turned their back on opposition parties’ call for including funding for anti-corona measures in the 102 trillion yen budget bill for fiscal 2020 and forcibly enacted the bill on March 27 at the House of Councilors plenary session.

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira later on the same day at a press conference in the Diet building criticized the enacted budget plan for failing to cope not only with the unprecedented crisis from the coronavirus pandemic but also with the economic slowdown which has become worse since the consumption tax rate was increased in the autumn of 2019.

Asked for a comment about the Abe government’s plan to draft a supplementary budget earmarked to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak, Koike said, “The government should take drastic fiscal measures to protect people’s lives and safety from the coronavirus and rebuild Japan’s economy which is undergoing serious stagnation.”

In this regard, Koike said that the government should adopt bold steps to financially support corona-affected businesses and workers. He stressed that these supports are important to stimulating the economy working to prevent further damage associated with the course of the pandemic.

Koike also pointed out that the government needs to produce economic packages in two stages. One should be designed to deal with the current crisis and the other to recover from the corona-hit economy.

Koike said that measures required at this moment are not the government-planned distribution of merchandise coupons but the offering of cash benefits to those who are struggling to survive financial difficulties due to the government request to stay home and government order to cancel large events.

Regarding measures for the economic recovery after the corona-fighting journey ends, Koike said that the lowering of the consumption tax rate to 5% is the most effective way to increase domestic demand and support the household economy.

Past related articles:
> Opposition parties’ proposal for 2020 budget revision focusing on fight against COVID-19 rejected [February 29, 2020]
> Koike: GDP drop caused by consumption tax hike to 10% [February 18, 2020]