TOKYO: The Japanese government adopted Tuesday a set of emergency measures to financially support people experiencing economic hardships amid the novel coronavirus crisis and prevent them from becoming disconnected and isolated from society.

The package, adopted at a meeting of relevant cabinet ministers, features a fresh program in which low-income households with children will receive 50,000 yen ($458) in cash per child, at a time when the government’s second state of emergency over the epidemic, currently in place in some prefectures including Tokyo, has led to a deterioration in the employment situation.

The package also includes expanding subsidies for nonprofit organizations that run “kodomo shokudo” cafeterias offering free meals to needy children and other groups working to help people in trouble.

To implement these measures, the government will use over 500 billion yen in reserve funds.

“We will fully support people to whom we haven’t been able to reach out enough,” Prime Minister SUGA Yoshihide said at the meeting.

The government will launch a full-fledged survey on the issue of loneliness and isolation amid the COVID-19 crisis, planning to draw up medium- to long-term countermeasures in June for inclusion in its new economic and fiscal policy guidelines.

The emergency cash handout program for low-income households with children is the third of its kind.

The previous two programs targeted only single-parent households, with 50,000 yen provided for the first child and 30,000 yen for each child born after.

The new program will cover all low-income households exempted from residential tax payments, including those with both parents, with 50,000 yen, instead of 30,000 yen, to be distributed also for each child born after the first child.

The government will expand subsidies for NPOs and other private-sector organizations that run kodomo shokudo cafeterias, support women facing problems and offer consultations to prevent suicide, in order to strengthen the safety net in a range of areas.

The government will also consider renting out vacant public housing at low fees to help poor people find jobs.

Single parents taking job training will receive up to 40,000 yen per month to cover housing costs.

In addition, the government will extend the March 31 deadline by three months to the end of June for applying for special loans under a lending scheme to help cover temporary living costs and a comprehensive loan scheme, both targeting people who have been out of work temporarily or lost their jobs due to the coronavirus fallouts.

An applicant can take out a total of up to 2 million yen under the two programs. Nonregular workers whose income has dropped and single parents with reduced child support payments will also be eligible for the programs.

JIJI Press