TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday instructed his ruling party to consider rewriting a supplementary budget plan to swiftly implement a proposed cash handout of 100,000 yen to every citizen in an effort to protect the economy from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The revamped extra budget for fiscal 2020, which started April 1, is likely to drop a separate cash handout of 300,000 yen to households financially struggling due to the virus crisis, sources familiar with the matter said.

The move by Abe, president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, came after Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of Komeito, the LDP's junior coalition partner, in his telephone talks with the prime minister earlier on Thursday reiterated his party's demand that the 100,000-yen cash handout plan be included in the extra budget.

A drastic change to a key government policy is very unusual. Abe may face criticism as a result.

JIJI Press