TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced on Wednesday plans for more economic stimulus to help revive stalling growth.
Speaking in the southern city of Fukuoka, Abe put the scale of the extra spending at more than $265 billion.
That would be nearly 6 percent of Japan's gross domestic product. But analysts said they believed much of the money was already in the pipeline, and the money would be spread out over multiple years, diluting its effect.
The proposed package is to be approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday, the Kyodo news service reported. It would then be included in a supplementary budget for consideration by the parliament in September.
"The new economic package needs to be something which would bolster domestic demand and ensure a trajectory toward economic recovery," Abe said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday that the ruling party and its coalition partner, the Komeito, were still haggling over details of the plan.
He said raising the minimum wage by about 19 cents an hour is another key aim.
"Raising the minimum wage and encouraging more consumer spending is extremely important and we will work hard to achieve that," Suga said.
Japan's economy, the world's third-largest, has stagnated for years, and monetary and government stimulus has so far failed to jolt it into a sustained recovery.
Business on 07/28/2016