TOKYO: The Japanese government at a cabinet meeting Friday decided to disburse 131.6 billion yen from its fiscal 2019 budget reserves to help areas affected by recent powerful typhoons.

The funds will be spent on measures included in a support package announced by the government on Thursday for rebuilding the daily lives of people and industries affected by Typhoon Faxai, Typhoon Hagibis and other disasters.

The government will use 50.1 billion yen for small companies, including 14.4 billion yen in "group subsidies," to be provided to small companies working in cooperation to restore their damaged facilities.

For the agricultural sector, 15.1 billion yen will be spent. Rice farmers will get 1.7 billion yen to remove tainted rice straws and cope with other damage, while 1.4 billion yen will be used for the replanting of fruit trees.

The government will distribute 2.9 billion yen to the tourism industry in disaster-hit areas, including 5,000 yen in subsidies to help cover fees at hotels and "ryokan" Japanese-style inns per guest per night.

The aid amount will be 17.4 billion yen for the disposal of disaster waste, debris and sediment.

From its budget reserves, the government has so far spent around 2 billion yen for measures concerning the recent string of natural disasters.

With Friday's cabinet decision, the balance of the government's fiscal 2019 budget reserves, which initially stood at 500 billion yen, will drop to 305 billion yen.

At Thursday's meeting of the government's disaster response headquarters, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, "By providing seamless financial assistance, we'll make the utmost efforts for recovery and reconstruction in collaboration with afflicted local governments."

JIJI Press