Suga adviser says Japan needs another US$384bil in stimulus

A street in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward. Japan has already budgeted about ¥58 trillion to fight the coronavirus crisis, more than many other governments relative to the economy’s size. - Bloomberg

TOKYO, Nov 29 (Bloomberg): A new adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga says a stimulus plan being drafted now should be more than double the size expected by investors if it is to prevent mass job losses and thousands of suicides.

Yoichi Takahashi, one of Suga’s six new economic advisers, says the government needs to spend 40 trillion yen (US$384 billion) in its third extra budget to stop a surge in unemployment and prevent the suffering that would come with it.