Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is likely to call a snap election after the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, a media report said, showing his resolve to push ahead with the Games despite the country's struggle to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
The government is considering crafting a new economic stimulus package before the expected snap election, the Asahi newspaper said on Thursday, citing several anonymous ruling party executives.
Japan will forgo compiling a supplementary budget for now and tap nearly 4 trillion yen ($36.50 billion) left in reserves to pay for immediate spending to combat the pandemic, the paper said.
Suga has said he would focus on dealing with the pandemic, and that Japan will go ahead with the Games under strict virus-protection measures.
Some ruling party lawmakers have called on the government to immediately compile a supplementary budget to revive an economy hit by new state of emergency curbs to prevent the spread of the virus.
($1 = 109.5900 yen)
(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chris Reese and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
