Japan's new economic stimulus plan exposed: planning to distribute cash to cope with inflation and provide additional funds for disaster preparedness.

According to reports, Japan's new economic stimulus plan will include cash payouts to help low-income families cope with inflation and provide additional funds for disaster preparedness. A draft of the plan shows that the amount of cash payouts will also increase based on the number of children in eligible families. The report states that in terms of disaster preparedness, the comprehensive plan aims to simplify the registration process for trailers and toilets, and expedite the installation of air conditioning in school gymnasiums used as emergency shelters. The plan will be allowed to be modified as it does not yet reflect some key policy proposals from the main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPP), which the ruling coalition is pursuing. The DPP is trying to ensure expanded tax breaks and lower gasoline and electricity prices in negotiations with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its partner Komeito. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was reappointed by parliament on Monday and ordered the development of the stimulus plan last month, following the loss of a majority of seats by the LDP and Komeito in the October 27th elections. Public dissatisfaction with the government's handling of the worst inflation in decades was a major reason for the election setback. So far, the measures outlined in the report are largely in line with expectations. Kishida stated that the additional budget for funding the plan will exceed last year's 13 trillion ($850 billion). In other reports, the Japanese government's goal is to incorporate a new framework to provide funding for the country's semiconductor industry. According to reports from November 1st, the Japanese government is planning to issue bonds secured by assets it holds (including NTT stocks) to provide subsidies to semiconductor companies. The new mechanism will allow the government to stabilize its support for companies like Rapidus Corp. for several years before around 2030. Rapidus aims to mass-produce advanced logic chips by 2027. So far, Japan has allocated around 4 trillion in previous supplementary budgets to revive its chip industry, including 920 billion for Rapidus. Additional budgets aimed at revitalizing the economy and garnering public support occur almost annually in Japan, despite adding to the country's massive debt burden. According to IMF data, Japan's debt burden reached 255% of its GDP in 2024. Japan's annual debt servicing costs already account for about a quarter of the regular annual budget, and these costs will continue to rise with increasing interest rates.