In response to rising prices due to the situation in Ukraine, the government has decided on emergency measures that include expanding subsidies to oil wholesale companies and providing benefits to low-income child-rearing households.
In response to this, Prime Minister Kishida prepared a supplementary budget for this year and instructed him to proceed with the work as soon as possible toward the establishment of the current Diet.
The government held a ministerial meeting at the Prime Minister's Office on the evening of the 26th and decided on emergency measures in light of rising prices.
According to this, as a response to the soaring crude oil price, the standard of price restraint, which is about 172 yen per liter of gasoline, was lowered to 168 yen, and then the subsidy to the oil wholesale company was expanded and the subsidy amount was increased. The upper limit of gasoline will be raised from 25 yen to 35 yen, and a system will be set up to support half of the excess even if the price rises further.
In addition, as a support measure for people in need of living, ▽ 50,000 yen per child will be paid to child-rearing households exempt from residence tax and single-parent households to which child-rearing allowance is paid. ..
At the meeting, Prime Minister Kishida said, "For those with new financial measures, we decided to use the reserve fund of this year's budget within the week and immediately put it into practice to recover economic and social activities from the Corona disaster. We will promptly provide the necessary support to the affected people and urge the people to disseminate information in an easy-to-understand manner.
In addition, in order to continue measures against the rise in crude oil prices, Minister of Finance Suzuki was instructed to formulate a supplementary budget for this year and proceed with work as soon as possible toward the establishment of the current Diet.
Let's take a look at the main items included in the emergency measures for rising prices decided by the government.
1. Support for people in need
We have decided to allocate about 1.3 trillion yen to support people who are facing rising prices due to the corona disaster and are having trouble living.
▽ In addition to newly providing 50,000 yen per child to child-rearing households exempt from residence tax and single-parent households receiving child-rearing allowances, ▽ 10 per household for households exempt from residence tax To ensure that you will receive the 10,000 yen benefit, we will notify you that this year, newly tax-exempt households will also be able to receive the benefit.
In addition, the deadline for applying for "emergency small-lot funds" that allows people with reduced income to borrow living expenses will be extended from the current end of June to the end of August.
In addition, the application deadline for the "Independence Support Fund for People in Need", which provides up to 300,000 yen per household for households who are having trouble living but cannot use the loan system such as "Emergency Small Funds", is 8 After extending until the end of the month, the benefits of job hunting activities such as receiving consultations twice a month at Hello Work will be relaxed.
2. Countermeasures against soaring crude oil prices
As a countermeasure against soaring crude oil prices, we will allocate about 1.5 trillion yen.
▽ In order to curb the rise in fuel prices such as gasoline, we will raise the subsidy to oil wholesale companies from the current 25 yen per liter to 35 yen.
In addition, the standard price for payment has been applied since the national average retail price of regular gasoline exceeded about 172 yen per liter, but it will be reduced to 168 yen.
It is expected that these measures will have the effect of suppressing the rise in the consumer price index by about 0.5 points.
▽ We will also support taxi operators that use LP gas to curb the rise in fuel prices.
3. Measures for stable supply of energy, raw materials and food
About 500 billion yen will be allocated to measures for the stable supply of raw materials and food.
▽ As a measure against soaring wheat prices, we will support manufacturers to switch raw materials from imported wheat to domestic wheat, rice, and rice flour, as well as support the expansion of domestic wheat production.
In addition, we will support transportation costs to increase the production of domestic timber, which is in high demand.
In addition, ▽ there is a concern that imports of chemical fertilizer raw materials from Russia and other countries will be delayed, so fertilizer manufacturers will subsidize part of the costs associated with switching import sources, and ▽ prices of grains used as feed for livestock will skyrocket. Therefore, we will increase the fund to provide compensation to livestock farmers when the price exceeds a certain level.
▽ Gases such as krypton, which are indispensable for semiconductor manufacturing, are also imported from Russia and Ukraine.
We will support the equipment cost for domestic production so that the supply of such gas will not be interrupted.
4. Measures for small and medium-sized enterprises
In addition, we will allocate about 1.3 trillion yen as a support measure for small and medium-sized enterprises affected by rising raw material prices.
In addition to lowering interest rates on "safety net loans" made by government-affiliated financial institutions such as Japan Finance Corporation to companies affected by the situation in Ukraine and rising crude oil prices, Japan Finance Corporation and The Shoko Chukin Bank The deadline for applying for virtually interest-free and unsecured loans and crisis response loans to companies affected by the new Corona will be extended from the end of June to the end of September.