Photo/Illutration A few pedestrians are found in the Tokyo’s Ginza district on March 28. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned the public last weekend to expect a prolonged battle against the novel coronavirus as the number of COVID-19 cases sharply increased around the nation, including the capital city.

“At this present moment, there is not one world leader who can predict when this battle will end,” Abe said at a news conference.

People are being urged to stay home on weekends and at night, and their daily worries are deepening.

The government is expected to announce its third emergency stimulus package as early as next week. With a long battle ahead, the package needs to allay people’s anxiety by reassuring them of the government’s commitment to protect their jobs and daily lives.

Specific measures under consideration include cash payouts to households and small and medium-sized businesses that have experienced sharp drops in income. Also on the table are a one-year extension of tax payment deadlines, a reduction in or exemption from corporate property tax, which even deficit-ridden businesses are obliged to pay, and a review of conditions for mortgage tax reduction.

“Once society’s fears have been dispelled, the measures will help the Japanese economy mark a V-shaped recovery,” Abe asserted.

However, restaurants, bars, hotels and event organizing companies have already suffered drastic drops in sales and customers, and they may not survive if the situation does not improve.

Instead of just abandoning them by emphasizing the difficulty of covering their losses with taxpayer money, the government should explore various possible solutions, such as reviewing the expanded loan system and waiving loan repayments under certain circumstances.

Some financing support centers are being inundated by inquiries. The system should be overhauled to ensure smooth and efficient operations.

In the meantime, local administrative bodies are proceeding to provide support measures that complement those of the central government.

Tottori Prefecture and the city of Hirakata in Osaka Prefecture have adopted their own support systems--which are more expansive than the central government’s--for people who must take time off work to care for their children during school closures.

The Miyagi Prefecture city of Tomiya is inviting graduating university students, who have had their unofficial employment offers canceled by their prospective employers, to apply for a one-year job with the city government. We hope local governments will continue to fine-tune their plans in the days ahead according to changes in the situation and the needs of specific communities.

Abe describes the stimulus package as being of “an unprecedented scale, greater than its counterpart at the time of the 2008 ‘Lehman shock.’” His Liberal Democratic Party has proposed a fiscal expenditure of 20 trillion yen ($186 billion).

But what really matters now is not the scale of the package but its certitude in bringing relief to those who need it.

Some within the LDP keep calling for a consumption tax cut. But considering all the hassle that it would cause business operators, now is definitely not the time for it.

Other proposals for the stimulus package include raising reward points for holders of the so-called My Number (individual number) card issued under the social security and tax number system, and hotel discounts at tourist resorts.

However, the last thing that should ever happen is for programs of the greatest urgency--related to people’s jobs and daily lives--being put on the back burner, while lucrative post-pandemic deals are being arranged for the benefit of specific industries.

--The Asahi Shimbun, March 31

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