Japan OKs over 17 tril. yen economic package to ease inflation shock

The government approved Thursday an economic package of over 17 trillion yen ($113 billion) to help households hit by inflation with one-off tax cuts and chart a growth path for the economy beyond the cost-of-living crisis.

The total size will likely reach around 37.4 trillion yen when private-sector spending on projects related to the package is included, in the latest push by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to get more money into people’s pockets at a time when real wages are falling.

The key features of the measures are a tax cut of 40,000 yen per person and 70,000 yen in payouts to low-income...