TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is likely to order an additional economic stimulus package by the end of March to cushion the impact of rising prices of oil and other goods on the economy, the Yomiuri newspaper said on Wednesday.
The move would follow Tuesday’s parliamentary approval of a record $900 billion state budget for the 2022 fiscal year.
The Nikkei newspaper reported separately that the government will likely tap 5.5 trillion yen ($45.41 billion) in reserves set aside under the fiscal 2022 budget to fund the package, instead of compiling an extra budget.
Under pressure by politicians to ramp up spending ahead of an upper house election scheduled this summer, Kishida has said his administration is ready to take further stimulus steps to ease the pain of surging fuel and food costs on households and companies.
($1 = 121.1300 yen)
(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya and Leika KiharaEditing by Shri Navaratnam and Sam Holmes)
