Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approved Saturday a $29.17 billion stimulus package targeting small business, post-disaster reconstruction and rural communities.
“With speedy implementation of these measures, I think we can bolster consumption and lift the provincial economy and expand the positive growth cycle to all corners of the country,” Abe told lawmakers in a meeting before his cabinet approved the measure.
Roughly half of the spending will go to communities rebuilding from natural disasters such as the 2011 tsunami and landslides earlier this year, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The package also includes heating oil subsidies, aid for families with small children and subsidies for municipalities to boost consumer spending.
Japan has struggled since a sales tax measure went into effect in April, with two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.
