TOKYO: Japan’s cabinet approved Wednesday a $19 billion supplementary budget to support households struggling with soaring everyday costs driven by the Iran war.
The extra budget was “decided” at a cabinet meeting, the prime minister’s office said on its website.
Top government spokesman Minoru Kihara told reporters at a news conference the cabinet had allocated 3.1135 trillion yen ($19 billion).
“Amid ongoing uncertainty in the situation in the Middle East, we have formulated this budget from the standpoint of minimising risk,” Kihara said.
He added that the budget would allow for a “robust financial readiness” and that the government would closely monitor future price trends “so that the daily lives of the public and economic activity are not disrupted”.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said last month that the extra budget would be used to ease the rising cost of petrol, electricity and gas.
In May, leading potato chip maker Calbee unveiled a new grey packaging for 14 product lines, swapping its signature orange-and-yellow packets, with local media attributing the move to an ink shortage linked to the Iran war.
Takaichi said the government expects to secure a stable supply of oil until next spring.
She added that alternative supplies for naphtha, an oil byproduct used in a wide range of industries, from outside the Middle East have recovered to more than 80 percent of previous levels.
Japan’ central bank hiked its inflation forecasts in April and cut its growth projections after the Iran war sent oil prices soaring.
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