TOKYO, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) — The Japanese parliament passed an additional budget of 28.92 trillion yen (214 billion U.S. dollars) for the current fiscal year on Friday in an effort to bolster the faltering economy and cushion the impact of rising inflation.
The House of Councilors, or the upper house, approved the second supplementary budget of the year through March 2023 on Friday after the House of Representatives passed it on Tuesday.
As part of an economic package to deal with surging consumer prices and downward economic trend, the budget was approved by the Cabinet on Oct. 28.
Soaring prices amid rising inflation in the country have been a headache for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, whose support ratings hit a record low since he took office in October 2021.
In October, Japan’s consumer prices marked a 40-year high by increasing 3.6 percent from a year earlier, owing to a weak yen further inflating soaring energy costs, a government report said.
The supplementary program, which has 3.11 trillion yen earmarked for power and city gas bills, intends to lower utility payments for a typical Japanese household by 5,000 yen per month between January and September.
As winter approaches, the expenditure plan also includes government subsidies to oil wholesalers to cut retail prices for gasoline and kerosene, with 3.02 trillion yen set aside to prevent a rise in those prices.
Based on government estimates, such steps are expected to limit the rise in consumer inflation by no less than 1.2 percent.
The government will secure most of the funding by issuing bonds worth 22.85 trillion yen, even as the country’s fiscal health is already the worst among advanced economies, local media reported. (1 U.S. dollar equals 134 yen)