TOKYO – Japan’s Cabinet approved a proposed 32 trillion-yen ($296 billion) supplementary budget Wednesday to help fund $1.1 trillion in measures to cushion the blow to the economy from the coronavirus pandemic.
The extra funding under consideration includes support for small businesses, funding for improved medical systems and subsidies for local governments.
The budget also will pay for measures to help prepare for possible future waves of infections. Japan’s economy, the world’s third largest, slipped into recession in the last quarter and was already slowing before the pandemic hit thanks to weakening global demand and consumer spending.