InsideJapan News Network

A new 23 trillion yen (£169 billion) package to help stimulate Japan's economy has been announced by prime minister Taro Aso.

According to the Associated Press, the majority of the money (13 trillion yen) will go towards combating the credit crunch, while 1 trillion yen will be given to local governments to assist them in creating more jobs.

The remaining 10 trillion yen will be used for fiscal spending, of which ten per cent will aid temporary workers who have lost their employer-provided accommodation after being made redundant.

Aso's plan may be one of the last acts of his three-month reign as Japan's premier, following the latest opinion polls indicating that he might about to lose his grip on power.

Tetsuro Kato, politics professor at Hitotsubashi University, was quoted by the Telegraph as predicting Aso might have less than one month left in office.

"I expect that he will have gone by the early part of January," he remarked.



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