The government and the Liberal Democratic Party made concessions to ruling coalition partner Komeito over providing 100,000 yen per person as an emergency economic measure to combat the new coronavirus, it was learned Thursday.
The government is considering revising the fiscal 2020 supplementary budget bill, in an extremely unusual move to revise the budget after it has been approved by the Cabinet.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held telephone talks with Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi on Thursday morning. In response to Yamaguchi's strong demand that the distribution of 300,000 yen in cash for households whose income has decreased be withdrawn from the supplementary budget to realize the 100,000 yen in benefits, Abe said he will "take it under consideration."
Yamaguchi revealed the details of the talks during a Komeito meeting.
On Wednesday, Abe, who also leads the LDP, held talks with Yamaguchi at the Prime Minister's Office. Yamaguchi requested a plan to offer 100,000 yen per person without setting income limits. Abe responded positively, saying, "We would like to thoroughly consider going in that direction."
On Tuesday, however, LDP Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai had said that the government should set income limits before providing 100,000 yen in financial aid.
The LDP and Komeito secretary generals and policy research council chairmen had intermittent discussions in the Diet on Wednesday, where Komeito demanded to withdraw a plan to offer 300,000 yen and recompile the supplementary budget by adding 100,000 yen in aid, with the aim of providing support swiftly. At the time, the LDP opposed Komeito's demand, and the two parties did not reach an agreement.
There are differences between the LDP and Komeito over income restrictions, and some LDP members have voiced strong opposition to the way in which high-income earners could receive benefits.
In a proposal submitted to the prime minister on March 31, Komeito included cash aid of 100,000 yen per person. At one point, Abe was enthusiastic about the idea and tried to implement it as part of an emergency economic package decided on April 7, but ended up putting it off after Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso objected, saying the plan would "be less effective as the money would be put into savings."
Instead, the government adopted an extraordinary living support payout in which 300,000 yen is distributed to households whose income has fallen.
Komeito, however, is critical of this payout. Komeito Secretary General Tetsuo Saito said Tuesday at a meeting with Nikai: "The system is difficult to understand and the target is small. It has a very bad reputation."
After the meeting, Nikai told reporters, "There is an urgent demand for a payment of 100,000 yen across the board," indicating his intention to seek the government to distribute 100,000 yen after setting income limits.
Abe's side is also showing a renewed interest in distributing 100,000 yen. It was Abe's original plan to provide cash across the board. After compiling the emergency economic package, Abe had told his aides, "I would like to think again [about across-the-board payments] in additional measures."
Abe's plan to distribute two fabric masks to all households and his posting of a video on social media of himself relaxing at home to accompany a video of singer-songwriter Gen Hoshino performing have inflamed public opinion. A Yomiuri Shimbun nationwide survey held April 11-12 showed the approval rating of the Cabinet was 42%, with the disapproval rating at 47%.
Some observers have said, "The prime minister may want to use the across-the-board payout as a trigger to reverse the declining approval rating of his Cabinet."
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