Japan OKs record $317 B extra budget for COVID, economy

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s parliament on Monday approved a record extra budget of nearly 36 trillion yen ($317 billion) for the fiscal year through March to help pandemic-hit households and businesses. The budget includes 100,000 yen ($880) payouts to families with children 18 or younger and a 2.5 million yen ($22,000) subsidy for businesses that suffered substantial losses of sales in the pandemic. Japan’s government has insisted that it is managing to catch people infected with the omicron variant of the coronavirus at the border, experts have cautioned that it may be spreading locally. The health ministry reported 14 omicron cases among arrivals at Japanese airports on Monday, bringing the known omicron cases to more than 80.