Japan Considers Cash Handout Plan Amid Tariff Conflict

(MENAFN) Japan’s governing coalition is contemplating a plan to provide direct cash assistance as part of a broader effort to mitigate the effects of U.S. tariffs and persistent inflation on the nation’s economy, according to reports from local media on Thursday.

A group of lawmakers from the ruling coalition has proposed distributing between 30,000 yen (USD207) and 50,000 yen (USD340).

This comes in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to implement a 24 percent reciprocal tariff on Japanese products, which took effect on Wednesday, along with a 25 percent duty on automobiles.

Despite the proposal, there are reservations among some lawmakers regarding the potential program, particularly concerning issues such as who should qualify and how to finance it, as reported by a news agency from Tokyo.

Itsunori Onodera, the policy chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, expressed that the ruling bloc should carefully discuss the details. "We’ll enhance relevant discussions by listening to various opinions," Onodera remarked to reporters.

Later in the day, the chair of the party’s Policy Research Council emphasized in a TV interview that both the ruling faction and the government should come to a decision about the potential cash handout plan "in a level-headed manner."

Japan’s economy has been impacted by persistent cost-push inflation, worsened by rising prices of rice, a staple food item, which has been largely attributed to a poor harvest.

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