Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s office approved a multibillion-dollar stimulus plan on Friday, delivering on the new leader’s promise to pursue an expansionary fiscal policy.
The stimulus package, worth 21.3 trillion JPY ($135.40 billion), includes general account spending of 17.7 trillion JPY, significantly higher than last year’s 13.9 trillion JPY, representing the biggest fiscal bazooka since the COVID pandemic. The plan also includes 2.7 trillion yen in tax cuts.
The plan aims to ease the burden of inflation on households and businesses, according to media reports – an approach that could contradict traditional economic views that stimulus measures tend to be inflationary.
However, bitcoin widely seen as a hedge against inflation and monetary and fiscal imprudence, fell 0.8% to $85,480, extending a recent sell-off that saw prices fall from a record high of $126,000 reached on October 8.
