Japan Devises Farmer, Small Biz Aid after Rain Disaster

Tokyo, July 16 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday his government has drawn up the first set of assistance to agriculture, forestry and fisheries industry players and small businesses damaged by the recent torrential rain in western Japan. The package, centering on financial assistance, is aimed primarily at helping early restarts of business operations by farmers and small businesses. The government plans to map out additional aid soon. "We'll do all we can to help farmers, forestry operators and fishermen, as well as small businesses, to work on recovery efforts positively and pave the way for restarting their operations as soon as possible," Abe said at a meeting of an emergency government task force on dealing with the flooding and mudslides caused by the heavy rain. The disaster aid package features five-year, interest-free loans to the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industry sectors. It also includes support for the early recovery of farmland and waterways, early benefit payments from the agricultural mutual aid program and the acquisition of agricultural machinery. On relief for small businesses, the government plans to devise a debt repayment moratorium and an increase in loans to members of small business mutual aid programs. END