Coronavirus: Japan to give each resident US$930 as pandemic batters economy

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the stimulus payments will be made ‘quickly’, as the crisis decimates the world’s third-largest economy

Abe also backed the World Health Organisation in the coronavirus fight, in contrast with US President Donald Trump who has vowed to cut funding to the agency

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Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe leaves after a press conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on April 17, 2020. Photo: Agence France-Presse

Published: 8:46pm, 17 Apr 2020Updated: 6:17am, 18 Apr 2020

Japan will offer a cash payment of 100,000 yen (US$930) to every resident, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced on Friday, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to decimate the world’s third-biggest economy.

“We are moving quickly to deliver cash to all people,” Abe said in a televised news conference to explain his decision to expand a state of emergency nationwide.

An initial plan to provide three times that amount to households, which have seen incomes slashed because of the coronavirus, was ditched and Abe apologised for the confusion.

Japan has seen relatively few cases and deaths compared to hotspots in Europe and the United States but a recent spike in Tokyo – which logged a daily record 201 new cases on Friday – has sparked concern.

Abe initially declared a state of emergency in seven regions of the country but expanded this on Thursday to include the entire country.

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