Gov't weighs ¥50,000 cash handouts for low-income families' children

impact of rising energy and food prices on households at a time of an anemic economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In time of economic decline, what Japan won't make plan to spur economic growth. Just give away money without any clear plan.

If it's to "cushion the impact from rising prices", why apply to families with children, people without children eat and buy things too.

As Election Day nears...

A lot of those families would be happier with more stable, permanent forms of support instead of a one time only cash handout.

Its infuriating and cruel that the government imposed sanctions and tariffs on Russia and raising prices for everything.

the people without children get no economic relief payment.

Tourists cant come spend money in Japan even tho the exchange rate is favorable.

Japanese government isnt taking good care of its citizens and residents.

How about removing consumption tax from foodstuff. That would help a lot.

A one off hand out is a vote catching bait, how about substantial and ongoing help for what is a substantial part of society

If Kishida hadn’t allowed the boj to print more money the (small) handout wouldn’t be necessary. Why not 100k?

For once, I do agree with virusrex

How about removing consumption tax from foodstuff.

No tax relief for the plebs. It's better for them to redistribute to their their buddies in heaps and their core demographics whatever is leftover. They know they'll be elected anyway.

Gov't weighs ¥50,000 cash handouts for low-income families' children

Translation: Our handouts to oil wholesalers、hotel owners and the landlords of underutiluzed eateries has become to egregious so we have to make a gesture of tossing a few coins to the actual workers who are supporting this whole scheme with their labor

Ahhh, Another brilliant plan from the people that bring you the extremely weak yen.

The LDP does have a solitary iota of care for ordinary citizens, it feathers its 70+ yr old nest and is the very definition of cronyism. Abe's parties for the blossom alone would equate to more than 50K JPY. The money given to the construction industry? JTB? THAT advertising company? TEPCO?

Disgusting.

The Japanese government is so out of ideas - total joke!

In other words, the average Taro has nothing to look forward to except higher prices, higher taxes to pay for subsidies, and no relief.

Again with the children! I KNOW that the only reason they want to give it to children 18 and under instead of everyone (low-income or otherwise) is because it lowers the amount they have to give out with Japan's dwindling youth, but give us a break! Tomorrow we'll be hearing about how they can't agree whether to give it to the kids in paper coupons or not. Meanwhile many people STILL can't get the initial relief money promised for closing businesses in April 2020!

Americans are receiving another check for ¥140000 for the third time while Japan mulls, plans, holds meetings, discusses, and may give ¥50000 to families with children.

Low income single parent families aren't the only ones suffering.

Unfair.

Pretty soon, one hopes, Japanese policymakers will realize the country needs a multilayered social safety net rather than sporadic and discriminatory cash handouts.

It's a great idea. Increase it by a factor or 2 or 3 as long as the money is taken from the richest 1% to pay for it otherwise the recipients and everyone else will pay for it via inflation.

Politicians whose average salary is around ¥2,000,000/ month, plus lots of extras, making a grand fuss over a one-time payment of ¥50,000.

A little bit of perspective!

Stop sending tax money to protect and perpetuate globalists antics, and use it to help citizens and residents of Japan, as it was intended.

There’s a tax for everything, yet people in Japan suffer.

Japan loves to support every cause but its own!

CUT the consumption tax on ESSENTIAL FOOD ITEMS!

Bring it on! I could use all the help I can get! I've got kids but I'm not a single parent. Does that mean I'm out of the game for those 50,000 yenners?

¥50,000. Insult to our intelligence. What a joke.

Now if it were monthly you might be in the ball park for a serious assistance program.

For single mothers and single fathers only.

I am surprised Japan has not come out with its version of food stamps. What would we call them in Japan Tabemono kippu?

The United Nations World Food Programme has welcomed a total contribution of US$110 million from the Government of Japan towards its food assistance and livelihood support to vulnerable people in 37 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa in 2021.

Japan. Asia's and other counties welfare office, but homeless and hungry on the street in Japan everywhere. Crazy. Government here is insane.

If the PM really wants to try and fix the problem, maybe he should try with policies rather than just handing out cash every time.

If the purpose is to try and buy people's votes for the next election then carry on as normal. I presume the elderly and farmers will soon be receiving some cash for whatever purpose can be linked to whatever topical issue.

¥50,000 is better than nothing but it won't even cover a week's worth of groceries.

Wonder how many long meetings it took to come up with this brilliant idea. Next time, please come up with a better long-term plan.

Its infuriating and cruel that the government imposed sanctions and tariffs on Russia and raising prices for everything.

How do you think Japan and countries around the world SHOULD'VE reacted to Russia's aggression? What would you have done? The only other option was to meet force with force and that means war. Japan would certainly have been a target due to it's current frosty relations with Russia, the amount of US forces based here and the possibility of China entering on Russia's side. Then Japan's citizens would have a lot worse problems to worry about than rising food prices.

the people without children get no economic relief payment.

This is true, but do people without children need the free hand outs? I don't.....I do like free money of course....but those who pay no resident tax due to salary AND have children are living pretty close to the bread line....so I'm cool with them getting help.

Tourists cant come spend money in Japan even tho the exchange rate is favorable.

If tourists were allowed in and the covid rates and deaths were huge, I can bet that you'd be one of the loudest shouting to close the border.

Japanese government isnt taking good care of its citizens and residents.

Has it ever? No fan of the LDP that's for sure.

That was not good deal 100.000 yen usa Europe had done more for several months payments

Hopefully, the ever deteriorating situation might spur the younger Japanese to seek real change in a country that seems to be increasingly out of touch

My Covid-hit income is low enough for us to qualify for this and it will help a bit, just like the other assistance given to families in the past two years.

As someone mentioned with the bars, the Japanese government hands money out left, right, and center, for business startups and reorganizations, to make houses eco, for retraining, etc. Giving money to families to feed their kids makes more sense to me than giving someone three million yen to start a hipster cafe or glamping site as a business startup.

In the big picture, I expect food prices to skyrocket this year due to reduced exports from Russia/Ukraine, reduced planting due to increased fuel and fertilizer cost, and all kinds of energy-based cost-push inflation in the food chain. I recommend tightening your belt in readiness, and warn everyone that the knock-on effects are likely to do big damage to all discretionary consumer spending, i.e., many people's jobs. While there is pent-up demand from two years of Covid, a recession looks nailed on. In less stable countries, this could be potentially much worse, bringing famine, civil war, mass migration, etc.

How about removing consumption tax from foodstuff. That would help a lot.

Yup. Groceries shouldn't be taxed to begin with.

Still waiting on the last 100,000yen for families with children.

Sweet breadcrumbs

"The package would also include more subsidies for oil wholesalers to bring down retail gasoline prices, and financial assistance to struggling smaller firms and to livestock farmers hit by higher feed costs as the war in Ukraine has sent grain prices surging, the sources said."

BIG NEWS! A whole ~$390 to struggling households without a word on the amounts that will be given over to Corporate so that their windfall profits do not take a hit. Toss a few coins to the hungry peasants and they won't ask questions...maybe even be ground down enough to be grateful for the crumbs...

I just don’t get the purpose or any sense of a single time handout or all your sales or consumption tax cuts. If you have only ¥1,000 and the product, meal or service costs ¥2,000, then you just cannot afford any. Doesn’t play any role, if the price is ¥2,200, ¥2,160 or a completely reduced to a tax free ¥2,000. One time cash handouts or those tax reduction proposals don’t change anything into a better direction. In contrary, the poorest and their children still have to carry now and in future the burden of more state debts due to handouts or lower tax influx , but still can’t afford the ¥2,000 things while the richer enjoy life even more than before by the lower tax percentages. A more substantial, continuous and reliable attempt with a mid or longer term perspective is needed, not such an expensive ‘nothing’.

If you have only ¥1,000 and the product, meal or service costs ¥2,000, then you just cannot afford any. Doesn’t play any role, if the price is ¥2,200, ¥2,160 or a completely reduced to a tax free ¥2,000.

That's not how it works, though.

If your family food budget was (say) ￥50,000 a month and you're just about breaking even by buying stuff off the discount wagon and going without any kind of treats for the kids, and then inflation/war/tax rises push the cost of the exact same, minimum-level food up to (say) ￥60,000 a month or even just ￥55,000 a month, then you have a problem. Especially if at the same time the cost of energy, clothes and everything else is also going up.

A single-time hand-out might not be a long-term solution, but for those who are really struggling, it offers a bit of a breathing space.

the richer enjoy life even more than before by the lower tax percentages

Taxes are going down? Since when?

An earlier idea in the ruling coalition to give cash handouts to older people hit by a fall in public pension benefits was scrapped in the face of similar criticism.

Or they could just restore pension levels to what they were?

Votes ...votes ..votes hahaha

I agree that more help should be given to the unfortunate right now however, when is the government going to push big companies to pay fair wages and to give full benefits to their employees? That would be more helpful than just keep givin 'gibs' and letting the money-printing machine go 'brrr'. If my small company of 4 employees can do it, big multinationals certainly can do it too.

this government is not fair. Cashout should be shared to all. Giving cashout to low income will teach them not to work because they received more than what they earned before, and not working will again result to low income so they will again receive money without any sweat. Citizen without children and citizen with average income and high income also pay taxes and also affected to the current war and pandemic. They deserve support from government too!!

This is discrimination against those who cannot have children due to medical reason! Everyone is affected due to the impact of rising prices and not only people with children! Any form of cash handouts should be across the board! It’s everyone’s tax money and heck the low income people pay even less tax! Why should hardworking individuals who work day and night to earn a healthy wage be penalized!