At a meeting after the Cabinet meeting on the 30th, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Aso almost paid the extraordinary amount of reserve fund of 11.5 trillion yen that the government recorded as a countermeasure against the new coronavirus in this year = Reiwa 2nd year. He acknowledged that using all of them was a necessary means of responding flexibly.
The reserve fund, which can be used without the approval of the Diet, is an exceptional measure because the Diet does not fully deliberate on what to spend, but the government has so far taken measures against the new coronavirus. It is used for cooperation money for restaurants in response to shortened business hours and "sustainable benefits" for small and medium-sized enterprises whose sales have dropped significantly, and the rest is about 500 billion yen, which is almost all spent.
Regarding this, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Aso said, "I was able to respond quickly rather than spending time on making supplementary budgets. In an emergency, the reserve fund for corona measures was a necessary means." He acknowledged that it was a necessary means to flexibly support companies and individuals affected by the spread of the infection.
On the other hand, Minister Aso said, "It is unusual to have to record trillions of yen in reserve funds every year. It was financially expensive, so we have to repair it." He emphasized the idea of promoting spending and revenue reforms together.