Japanese Gov't Adopts $24.3Bln Support Package for Citizens Through Price Crisis

TOKYO (Sputnik) - The Japanese government has approved an allocation of 3.49 trillion yen ($24.3 billion) from the reserve fund to support the population against soaring food and fuel prices during current fiscal year, which started on April 1, media reported on Tuesday.

The package presupposes one-time payments to low-income families in the amount of 50,000 yen ($348) as well as subsidies to companies carrying out wholesale energy supplies, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.

The reserve fund for current fiscal year is estimated at 5 trillion yen, the report said.

Prices in Japan are expected to rise for about 8,000 items during autumn, with over 6,000 of them in October. In total, prices will rise for 20,000 products in 2022, with an average price increase of 14%, according to Japanese research center Teikoku Databank.

At the same time, the yen fell to its lowest last week and traded at 144.9 against the US dollar for the first time since August 1998. The fall is explained by significant differences in the approaches of the US and Japanese central banks to monetary policy. The US Federal Reserve continues to increase the interest rate, while Japan, on the contrary, keeps the rate negative.