Japan PM Kishida to unveil plans for revival of economy after pandemic

Tokyo, November 10 (BNA) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will outline plans on Wednesday to revive the epidemic-stricken economy after his ruling Liberal Democratic Party won a strong majority in last month’s elections.

Post-election support for the soft-spoken former banker from the nuclear memorial city of Hiroshima prompted him to raise the government’s support ratings to 53% in an opinion poll conducted by public broadcaster NHK this week. Reuters reported that support two weeks ago was at 46%.

Kishida, who is due to lay out his plans at a press conference on Wednesday evening, stressed that his immediate priority is to revive growth, with fiscal reform later.

Strong valuations, a planned economic stimulus that could be worth more than 30 trillion yen ($264.7 billion), along with high vaccination rates and a handful of infections, could help Kishida solidify his power base in the party and avoid the continued fate of his predecessor Yoshihide Suga. . Only one year on the job.

Kishida is due to be re-elected on Wednesday by parliament in which the LDP won 261 out of 465 seats in the powerful House of Representatives. The vote is a formality given the dominance of the party and its junior coalition partner in parliament.

In Japan, the prime minister is elected by members of parliament rather than by national elections.

Kishida is also set to reappoint all but one of the ministers from the previous line-up, which was announced last month after he was first elected by parliament after winning the LDP presidential race following Suga’s resignation in September.

One of the changes is in the position of foreign minister, with Kishida expected to replace Toshimitsu Motegi, who has moved to a key party position, with former LDP heavyweight Yoshimasa Hayashi.

Most of Kishida’s ministers have no previous ministerial experience, in keeping with his pledge to give new people a chance, but the majority of important jobs have gone to allies of the party’s bones: conservative former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, or former Finance Minister Taro. Aso.

On Wednesday, the former prime minister is expected to take over the leadership of the largest faction in the party, local media said, in another move that strengthens the position of the conservatives in the Liberal Democratic Party after Abe held the record for the highest position.

With the election over, Kishida is setting an ambitious agenda to pass the economic stimulus on November 19, and an additional budget to finance spending by the end of this month.

One of the pillars of the planned strategic plan is a payout of 100,000 yen in cash and vouchers for children age 18 or younger, which the coalition on Wednesday agreed to a maximum annual income of 9.6 million yen, media said.

Kishida on Tuesday vowed to put the economy on the right track by boosting private sector investment and disposable income to achieve a “benign cycle” of economic growth and wealth distribution.

He has said he wants to revamp the medical system and provide booster doses to better protect against the next wave of COVID-19 infections.

MI