Japan backs €169bn stimulus package
The Japanese Cabinet has approved a fresh stimulus spending of more than 20 trillion yen (€169bn), rushing to fulfil campaign pledges to break the world’s third-biggest economy out of its deflationary slump.
The country’s prime minister Shinzo Abe announced the decision today at a news conference where he said the new measures were intended to add 2% to Japan’s economic growth and contribute 600,000 new jobs.
Mr Abe urged the central bank to move more aggressively to encourage lending and meet a clear inflation target.
Mr Abe took office late last month after a parliamentary election victory by the Liberal Democratic Party, which is touting public works spending and subsidies to strategically important sectors as part of its plan to pull the economy out of recession.
