Japan Unveils 10.3tn Yen Fiscal Stimulus

The Japanese government will spend 10.3 trillion yen ($116 billion) to drive a recovery from a recession in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s first major policy initiative to end deflation and boost growth.

About 3.8 trillion yen will be for disaster prevention and reconstruction, with 3.1 trillion yen directed to stimulating private investment and other measures, according to a statement released on 11 January by the Cabinet Office. Extra spending will increase gross domestic product by about 2 percentage points and create about 600,000 jobs, the government said.

A pick-up in China’s inflation reported today highlighted a rebound in Asia’s biggest economy that may aid efforts by the newly elected Abe to lead Japan out of its third recession in five years. The stimulus may heighten concern that the government’s commitment to fiscal reform is slipping, adding to the risk that a public debt more than twice the size of the economy may trigger a surge in bond yields.

A fiscal boost may help Abe maintain support for his Liberal Democratic Party before upper house elections in July after the yen slid through 89 per dollar today and as stocks extend a rally.

The currency was at 88.92 per dollar as of 5:29 p.m. in Tokyo after touching the weakest since June 2010. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average (NKY) closed 1.4 percent higher for its ninth week of gains, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.1 percent.