Economics
Japan Struggles to Pump Out $2 Trillion in Virus-Response Aid
- Almost 40% of universal cash benefits still stuck in red tape
- Japan says stimulus is world’s biggest at more than 40% of GDP
People wait to cross a street in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo on June 14.
Photographer: Soichiro Koriyama/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared his virus-response package to be the world’s biggest, yet much of it remains stuck in Japan’s aging administrative pipeline, blocked by paperwork, complexity and a lack of staff.
Almost 40% of the funds budgeted for cash handouts to households still haven’t reached people despite their approval in late April, according to Japan’s internal affairs ministry citing figures to the end of last week.