Japan’s 4-yr spending on COVID, inflation relief hit 68.5 tril. yen

Japan’s spending to help the economy mitigate the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerating inflation will likely total around 68.5 trillion yen ($471 billion) in the four years to fiscal 2023, a Kyodo News analysis showed Saturday.

With most of the funding coming from debt issuance and the government’s goal of restoring fiscal health taking a backseat, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida faces the urgent task of carrying out spending reforms as the world’s third-largest economy recovers from the economic slump.

Kyodo News used data submitted by the private-sector members of a key government p...