Freelancers and companies established this year will be able to apply for government cash benefits starting on Monday, the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry announced Friday.
The benefits aimed at sustaining businesses hit by the pandemic-driven slowdown did not initially cover these two categories. However, up to 2 million yen for corporations and up to 1 million yen for single-person businesses, including freelancers, will be paid out according to the degree of profit decline from the previous year.
An initial requirement for eligibility was that sales were halved from the previous year. That requirement was relaxed and companies launched between January and March will be eligible for the benefit if their single-month sales in April or after were halved compared with their average sales in January-March.
Freelancers who declare a combination of miscellaneous and salary income will be also eligible for the benefit if their income in any month this year was halved compared with their average monthly income last year.
The cash benefit can be applied for through a special website. Payouts will likely take more than two weeks, unlike conventional cash benefits to sustain businesses, because checking these business situations will be more complicated.
"We'll make efforts to provide the cash as soon as possible, because we learned a lot [from the past benefit payout procedures]," Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama said after a Cabinet meeting on Friday.
Regarding the cash benefit provision, opposition parties and others are criticizing the government over the ambiguity of how an executive office commissioned by the government was selected and how the office is operated.
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