Kishida Eyes 30,000-Yen Benefits to Low-Income Households

Tokyo, March 15 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is considering a plan to provide 30,000 yen in fresh inflation relief to each low-income household, it was learned Wednesday.

Kishida also showed willingness to provide child-rearing households with an additional 50,000 yen per child, Keiichi Ishii, secretary-general of Komeito, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's coalition partner, told reporters after meeting with the prime minister at his official office.

Those amounts of cash handout for low-income families were initially shown to Kishida, also LDP head, by LDP policy chief Koichi Hagiuda at an earlier meeting the same day.

Kishida told Hagiuda that he wants to support low-income earners, who are hit harder by price hikes, especially with a view to providing aid based on the number of children they are rearing.

At their respective meetings with the prime minister, Hagiuda and Ishii submitted their parties' own proposals on further measures to cushion the impact of price increases, including assistance to liquefied propane gas users and companies that use large amounts of electricity.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]