Japan unveils $80.6 billion stimulus plan

Japan's government on Tuesday unveiled a new economic stimulus package which includes a 7.2 trillion yen ($80.6 billion) in spending in an effort to appease demands for more public assistance.

However, the plan was "largely expected and there was a delay in approving the stimulus due to disagreements within the coalition, but the final amount is not a big surprise. The government plans to decide on Dec. 15 on the outline of the second extra budget for the current fiscal year ending in March to pay for the stimulus package, Finance Minster Hirohisa Fujii said.

Fujii also said the budget will likely involve sales of new government securities worth around 9.3 trillion, bringing the total debt issuance for the current fiscal year to a record 53.5 trillion yen, according to the report. Prime Minister Yuko Hatoyama's first stimulus plan includes 3.5 trillion yen to help regions, 600 billion yen for employment and 800 billion yen on environmental initiatives.
The package is timely as it comes just ahead of the likely sharp downward revision in Q2 Gross Domestic Product.