New Economic Measures to Distribute Fruits of Growth: Kishida

Tokyo, Sept. 25 (Jiji Press)--New economic measures that the Japanese government plans to finalize by the end of October are expected to fairly distribute the fruits of economic growth and facilitate a shift from a cost-cutting economy, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Monday. Kishida told reporters at the prime minister's office that the government will promptly draw up a fiscal 2023 supplementary budget after compiling new economic measures. Japan "will move on to a new economic stage through various benefits, tax measures and the reduction of social security burdens," Kishida noted. On the possibility of dissolving the House of Representatives for a snap election, the prime minister said, "I will focus on issues that cannot be left unaddressed. I'm not thinking about anything else at the moment." Kishida said the planned economic measures are based on five pillars--measures to protect people's daily lives from rising prices, to support sustainable wage and income growth and regional economic growth, to promote domestic investment to boost growth potential, to reform society to overcome the country's declining population, and to ensure the safety and security of the public. Earlier on Monday, the prime minister met with the policy chiefs of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, Komeito, to ask them to consider economic measures. Kishida will instruct relevant ministers of his cabinet on Tuesday to come up with specific measures, with the aim of compiling them by the end of October and submitting a supplementary budget bill to finance them. Regarding anti-inflation measures, the government will consider whether to continue existing programs beyond the end of the year to curb electricity and gas bills and provide subsidies to alleviate the impact of soaring gasoline prices. The government may include measures for low-income earners, in an effort to shore up the Kishida cabinet's sagging public approval, observers said. Measures to raise wages and boost investment are likely to include subsidies for companies that focus on improving productivity and providing reskilling support for employees. The government is also considering extending a tax benefit to promote wage increases at small and midsize companies, which is set to expire at the end of the year through March 2024, and creating a tax system to strengthen domestic production of key materials such as semiconductors. Social reform measures are expected to promote digital transformation to improve administrative efficiency. To ensure the safety and security of the public, the government is likely to take measures to address concerns over the release into the ocean of tritium-containing treated water from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the site of the March 2011 triple meltdown. END