THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
April 20, 2022 at 18:18 JST
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida answers questions during a plenary session of the Lower House on April 19. (Koichi Ueda)
The central government is preparing to provide a cash handout to families with children who are financially struggling as prices soar stemming from the Ukraine crisis, according to sources.
The government is coordinating with the ruling parties to draft a new subsidy program where low-income families, including two-parent households, would receive 50,000 yen ($388) per child, the sources said.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to announce the program as early as next week as a main pillar of the government’s emergency measures against higher commodity prices.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, submitted to Kishida on April 14 a list of policy proposals aimed at cushioning the impact of rising prices.
In the proposals, the LDP urged the government to strengthen support measures for those in need, including providing cash handouts to those living in dire poverty. Komeito proposed similar measures.
The Kishida administration will likely adopt the same eligibility criteria as its predecessor did to provide the handouts to struggling families: single-parent households receiving the child care allowance or two-parent households exempt from residential taxes.
The move comes as the government and the ruling camp had to drop a plan to provide a lump sum payment of about 5,000 yen to pensioners facing pension benefit cuts from April.
The government is currently providing up to 25 yen in subsidies to each oil wholesaler to keep gas retail prices from rising above around 172 yen per liter.
It is coordinating with the ruling parties to lower gas prices to 168 yen per liter. The government is also considering increasing the subsidy.
The former administration of Yoshihide Suga also decided in March last year to introduce a subsidy program targeting families with children facing financial difficulties due to the pandemic.
About 3.8 million people received cash handouts under the program.
EDITORIAL: 5,000-yen cash ‘gift’ to pensioners a blatant political ploy
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5,000-yen ‘gift’ to pensioners unlikely to produce smiles
March 16, 2022
Kishida fails to erase the doubt in cash-coupon handout plan
December 9, 2021
Kishida allows unconditional cash-only handouts for kids
December 14, 2021
New subsidy program drafted to aid struggling families
March 17, 2021
Komeito accepts income cap for handouts to kids during pandemic
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