Fiscal Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis in Japan: The First Six Months

         
Author Name ANDO Michihito (Rikkyo University) / FURUKAWA Chishio (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) / NAKATA Daigo (Senior Fellow, RIETI) / SUMIYA Kazuhiko (Fellow (Policy Economist), RIETI)
Creation Date/NO. July 2020 20-P-018
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Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the Japanese government's response to the COVID-19 crisis in terms of the fiscal measures taken between January and June, 2020. As the crisis intensified, the government passed emergency budgets with a total value exceeding 10% of GDP. One of the main programs was an unconditional cash transfer for households in the amount of 100,000 JPY (i.e., 909 USD) per resident. In addition, to prevent layoffs and bankruptcies, the government created and expanded various loan and subsidy programs to support firms and workers. Other existing social programs and local economic policies are also reviewed.

Published: Ando, Michihito, Chishio Furukawa, Daigo Nakata, and Kazuhiko Sumiya, 2020. "Fiscal responses to the COVID-19 crisis in Japan: The first six months," National Tax Journal, Vol. 73(3), pp. 901-926.
https://doi.org/10.17310/ntj.2020.3.12

The Japanese version of this paper is 21-P-005.