Japan Stimulus Package - November, 2025

[Wind_FURY]

If everyone hasn't read the breaking news, Japan has approved a massive stimulus package to "ease the burden of inflation".

 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

THAT doesn't actually make sense because bringing financial stimulus is INFLATIONARY, plus I believe Japan's inflation is already sort of high?

But why the stimulus package? I believe it's probably because the BOJ/Japanese government is expecting a liquidity crisis/economic crash and has front-ran it.

[mindrust]

Aahh Japan. World’s biggest financial problem. No matter how much viagra the government mix into their food, those pandas always refuse to make kids for some reason. Now they want to stimulate them pandas even further? Gubbermint is distributing free munney buy something you fools. Make kids, have fun. Go to USA watch the world cup, best place to use your stimulation package. Stop being so grim. Life is gud. Work work work, you call that life?  Work can wait. These people are so smart, their smarts are actually working against them. C’mon spend and let the inflation flow. Mfing pandas what makes you think you are better than the rest of the world?

[Moreno233]

Stimulus package nit because of natural disaster or war but due to inflation? That is counter-productive because it will simply worsen the inflation. I don't really know what is wrong with the Japanese that most of them prefer to work and not spend their money thereby stiffening their economy. Even with this stimulus package, a lot of them will not still spend the money because they rather work than spend money on leisure.

[Alpha Marine]

Stimulus package nit because of natural disaster or war but due to inflation? That is counter-productive because it will simply worsen the inflation. I don't really know what is wrong with the Japanese that most of them prefer to work and not spend their money thereby stiffening their economy. Even with this stimulus package, a lot of them will not still spend the money because they rather work than spend money on leisure.

I have a question, though.
Is it that they really do not like spending money, or don't have the money? I mean, it's a different thing if they have the money, but prefer to spend it only on extremely necessary things, than not having the money at all to spend. What if it's only a narrative that the Japanese don't spend much money, and it's not entirely true?

Could it also be because the government provide or at least subsidises a lot of things, so it doesn't become expensive, so the people no longer need to spend much money?  Things like transportation, healthcare, education and other bills people will ordinarily spend more money on, like electricity, gas, etc? Or it is simply what it is: a cultural thing that makes the average Japanese not be a big money spender and constantly work with no time to spend the money.

[pooya87]

But why the stimulus package? I believe it's probably because the BOJ/Japanese government is expecting a liquidity crisis/economic crash and has front-ran it.

Maybe, but I think if they predict a "liquidity crisis" they would just increase the liquidity, give out more loans, lower rates and generally do stuff like that.

Paying people like this is only done when the economy is also in a recession and people don't want to or cannot afford to take loans. The stimulus packages are giving to the people to help ease their hardship during economic hardship. Like many governments did during the COVID19 recession.

I also don't think this has that much of an inflationary effect. They money these people receive is mostly spent on their cost of living (to put simply it pays the bills). That can't really cause inflation though.

[Fortify]

If everyone hasn't read the breaking news, Japan has approved a massive stimulus package to "ease the burden of inflation".

 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

THAT doesn't actually make sense because bringing financial stimulus is INFLATIONARY, plus I believe Japan's inflation is already sort of high?

But why the stimulus package? I believe it's probably because the BOJ/Japanese government is expecting a liquidity crisis/economic crash and has front-ran it.

Last time I checked Japan was in a looong period of deflation but that switched recently and now they are back to inflation. The government has been so used to fighting deflation that they don't know how to pivot the other way, Japan has gotten themselves out of a hole and are probably just trying to stabilize right now. A quick google shows that inflation is only 3% currently in Japan, which is often the goal for most developed countries and means goods don't rise too fast, sometimes governments try to aim for 2% inflation but it's very risky. I too don't know how a stimulus package would help at all in this situation, but I guess it can be a good way to buy votes for the next election.

[Lucius]

Maybe someone thinks it's some kind of stimulus similar to what the US did, but when we look at what it's really about, we see that people will receive very little cash, and that most of the money will be intended for various subsidies such as electricity or fuel taxes.

The lavish spending package approved Friday includes subsidies for energy costs, a cut in the gasoline tax and other measures to help consumers struggling with the rising cost of living...Specific subsidies include one-time cash handouts of 20,000 yen (about $130) per child, which would require about 400 billion yen ($2.6 billion) in government funding and issuing rice vouchers or other coupons worth 3,000 yen (about $20) per person, to be distributed by local authorities.

To me, this seems quite targeted and reasonable, rather than handing out checks for a few thousand dollars that some people spend on nonsense, and in fact such assistance makes no sense at all. Considering everything that is happening in the country, including the decline in exports to the US for seven months in a row and the fall of the yen to its lowest levels this year, I think such a decision makes sense.

Takaichi told reporters that the package aims to quickly deliver on her promises.
“Through wise spending, we will change worries into hope and achieve a strong economy,” she said.
“What we should do now is to strengthen the national power through expansionary spending, through wise spending, and not to cause harm through excessively contractionary policies,” she said.

Source

[Dreadboost]

But why the stimulus package? I believe it's probably because the BOJ/Japanese government is expecting a liquidity crisis/economic crash and has front-ran it.

Maybe, but I think if they predict a "liquidity crisis" they would just increase the liquidity, give out more loans, lower rates and generally do stuff like that.

Paying people like this is only done when the economy is also in a recession and people don't want to or cannot afford to take loans. The stimulus packages are giving to the people to help ease their hardship during economic hardship. Like many governments did during the COVID19 recession.

I also don't think this has that much of an inflationary effect. They money these people receive is mostly spent on their cost of living (to put simply it pays the bills). That can't really cause inflation though.

I'm actually not sure it's because they are expecting liquidity crisis, the chances that Japan will have a liquidity crisis right now or in the next 2 years is quite low, this is because Japan central bank do print money aggressively, therefore if banks or companies need cash they can quickly get it, also japan owes most of its money to its self and not other countries. So liquidity crisis is something not to be bothered about for the cause of the stimulus package
Instead I strongly suspect that this stimulus package is like a means of stabilising their economy, Japan economy has been facing slow growth in the past few decades, the stimulus package can be a solution to strengthen business and keep a stable economy so things does not go worst.

[shinratensei_]

Stimulus package nit because of natural disaster or war but due to inflation? That is counter-productive because it will simply worsen the inflation. I don't really know what is wrong with the Japanese that most of them prefer to work and not spend their money thereby stiffening their economy. Even with this stimulus package, a lot of them will not still spend the money because they rather work than spend money on leisure.

They spend their money often but the inflation is really the heavy weight they need to carry, their purchasing power plummeted and now they're buying less because of that exact reason.
Japan is truly in a difficult situation right now with the economy and the population crisis.

[noorman0]

-snip-
I believe it's probably because the BOJ/Japanese government is expecting a liquidity crisis/economic crash and has front-ran it.

I can't find any mention of the stimulus package being approved by increasing liquidity. I think they're just going to redistribute fiscal policy. Or am I missing something?

-snip-
A quick google shows that inflation is only 3% currently in Japan, which is often the goal for most developed countries and means goods don't rise too fast, sometimes governments try to aim for 2% inflation but it's very risky.

Yes, that's what I think. The discipline of maintaining deflation-stagnant for decades can apparently make them overreact. While 3% is a moderate inflation rate for other countries, they're treating this like 10%. I know Japanese people are typically frugal, so they're not used to rising prices.

[tsaroz]

If everyone hasn't read the breaking news, Japan has approved a massive stimulus package to "ease the burden of inflation".

 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

THAT doesn't actually make sense because bringing financial stimulus is INFLATIONARY, plus I believe Japan's inflation is already sort of high?

But why the stimulus package? I believe it's probably because the BOJ/Japanese government is expecting a liquidity crisis/economic crash and has front-ran it.

Stimulus package is basically the government spending the money trying to ease the pressure of individuals and business. It might be a good thing considering the fall of economic activities but this one particular from the government of Japan is mostly being spent on things that won't benefit Japan.
Japan has one of the lowest fertility rate and its population is basically crashing down. Subsidies on energy, rice and a one time cash handout for child seems a good thing but it's very low. $128 for a child won't even cover a month expense for the child. While all the rest are going to buying weapons and contracts.
Japan is doing the wrong thing in wrong time, while theirs priority should be on making Japan more livable and keeping the population manageable, they are giving away contracts to people and companies out of the country.

[Porfirii]

Aahh Japan. World’s biggest financial problem. No matter how much viagra the government mix into their food, those pandas always refuse to make kids for some reason. Now they want to stimulate them pandas even further? Gubbermint is distributing free munney buy something you fools. Make kids, have fun. Go to USA watch the world cup, best place to use your stimulation package. Stop being so grim. Life is gud. Work work work, you call that life?  Work can wait. These people are so smart, their smarts are actually working against them. C’mon spend and let the inflation flow. Mfing pandas what makes you think you are better than the rest of the world?

Hey mindrust, I thought pandas where endemic to China, not Japan

Although I respect their culture, I think that your comment is quite appropriate. Yes, I really miss a greater work ethic in my country (Spain is known as the country of the "pandereta" -tambourine- for some reason...) but the case of Japan is extreme. Like you said, they're so smart that it seems they lost focus on what is really important in life, like starting a family or enjoying simple contemplation.

Extremes are not good, and practical examples like Japan's exemplify it very well. Their latest greatest export to the world, the "Single's Day", should be taken as a warning. (Oh no! I just searched it and it's native to China, again... Never mind, the underlying idea is still valid).

[Wind_FURY]

Stimulus package nit because of natural disaster or war but due to inflation? That is counter-productive because it will simply worsen the inflation. I don't really know what is wrong with the Japanese that most of them prefer to work and not spend their money thereby stiffening their economy. Even with this stimulus package, a lot of them will not still spend the money because they rather work than spend money on leisure.

 👍

That's absolutely why I posted that there might be a hidden reason why they're doing that, which they don't want to tell the general public to avoid causing a panic.

But if there are hidden leaks and cracks in their economy, and if indeed it's time to crash, THEN it will crash without any warning.

[Lida93]

Stimulus package nit because of natural disaster or war but due to inflation? That is counter-productive because it will simply worsen the inflation. I don't really know what is wrong with the Japanese that most of them prefer to work and not spend their money thereby stiffening their economy. Even with this stimulus package, a lot of them will not still spend the money because they rather work than spend money on leisure.

Is the economic stimulus package just about encouraging the spending of money worked for?! ...it goes beyond just that, even with the subsidies to inspire spending culture or habit. I think when it comes to spending by the Japanese it has to start with the renewing of their minds towards it because even the subsidies may not really be effective as expected. Maybe many of the citizens needs to  know the importance of money circulation through spending, that it facilitates economic growth but hoarding inhibits ...

[boyptc]

If everyone hasn't read the breaking news, Japan has approved a massive stimulus package to "ease the burden of inflation".

 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

If you didn't posted this, I will never know that they have approved a $135-B stimulus.

THAT doesn't actually make sense because bringing financial stimulus is INFLATIONARY, plus I believe Japan's inflation is already sort of high?

That is true, AFAIK they are still in recovery and have got a lot of package offered not only to their citizens to boost a lot of industries including tourism but also to tourists.

But why the stimulus package? I believe it's probably because the BOJ/Japanese government is expecting a liquidity crisis/economic crash and has front-ran it.

What I am thinking is another money from them to pour in to Bitcoin? 

Kidding aside but that's how they simply want to lessen the inflation but later on, they'll have to deal with its consequence.

[Lucius]

~snip~
What I am thinking is another money from them to pour in to Bitcoin? 
Kidding aside but that's how they simply want to lessen the inflation but later on, they'll have to deal with its consequence.

I see that no one has commented (probably not even read my post) which very clearly states in what form these stimuli will be paid out, and then you wouldn't get lost in theories that this money is something that will result in something completely bad. $130 dollars per child or $20 in food vouchers per person is not something that will allow anyone to invest in something like Bitcoin or any similar investment.

[boyptc]

~snip~
What I am thinking is another money from them to pour in to Bitcoin? 
Kidding aside but that's how they simply want to lessen the inflation but later on, they'll have to deal with its consequence.

I see that no one has commented (probably not even read my post) which very clearly states in what form these stimuli will be paid out, and then you wouldn't get lost in theories that this money is something that will result in something completely bad. $130 dollars per child or $20 in food vouchers per person is not something that will allow anyone to invest in something like Bitcoin or any similar investment.

I was thinking that it's a plain cash but thanks for correcting me.

Should it be in cash, the beneficiaries will have more extra cash if it's $130 per child and they'll surely put it into good use since Bitcoin in Japan is no longer a myth.

I now understand that it's for the subsidies but I think in the end, it'll still going to cause an additional inflation.

[Dogedegen]

It would have been good to include some information about the stimulus check you know, so that we can evaluate what is going on here.

If everyone hasn't read the breaking news, Japan has approved a massive stimulus package to "ease the burden of inflation".

Here's what beloved AI says and another source.

Japan recently approved a $135 billion stimulus package aimed at boosting the economy and providing relief to consumers facing rising prices. This package is the largest since the COVID-19 pandemic and includes measures like subsidies for electricity and gas bills.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/21/japans-cabinet-announces-135-billion-stimulus-package-nhk.html
The cabinet also said it would expand local government grants, as well as provide subsidies for electricity and gas bills. The support measures will kick in January, amounting to about 7,000 yen for a standard household over a three-month period, according to the NHK report. Taxes on gasoline will be eliminated.

Japan also plans to establish a 10-year fund to enhance its shipbuilding capabilities, and enact measures to raise defense spending to 2% of its gross domestic product by fiscal year 2027.

I am not sure if this is accurate because 7,000 yen is like 45 US dollars?  On another source I found this:

Specific subsidies include one-time cash handouts of 20,000 yen (about $130) per child, which would require about 400 billion yen ($2.6 billion) in government funding and issuing rice vouchers or other coupons worth 3,000 yen (about $20) per person, to be distributed by local authorities.
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2025-11-23/japan-oks-135-billion-stimulus-package-to-help-revive-its-sluggish-economy

These amounts still seem low though. $20 rice voucher per person? How does that really help? 

But why the stimulus package? I believe it's probably because the BOJ/Japanese government is expecting a liquidity crisis/economic crash and has front-ran it.

It is certainly possible but without any data that would just be a conspiracy theory. Do you have something?

Aahh Japan. World’s biggest financial problem. No matter how much viagra the government mix into their food, those pandas always refuse to make kids for some reason.

Very few people can actually properly afford to have kids in this economy. Nobody intelligent is going to have kids before they are ready, that is why so many undeveloped migrants are having many kids in the European Union. They don't even spend most of the money that they get for kids on the kids themselves, you will see them feeding them cancerous budget food. Funny how incentives sometimes do the opposite of what is intended.

[Wind_FURY]

It would have been good to include some information about the stimulus check you know, so that we can evaluate what is going on here.

If everyone hasn't read the breaking news, Japan has approved a massive stimulus package to "ease the burden of inflation".

Here's what beloved AI says and another source.

Japan recently approved a $135 billion stimulus package aimed at boosting the economy and providing relief to consumers facing rising prices. This package is the largest since the COVID-19 pandemic and includes measures like subsidies for electricity and gas bills.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/21/japans-cabinet-announces-135-billion-stimulus-package-nhk.html
The cabinet also said it would expand local government grants, as well as provide subsidies for electricity and gas bills. The support measures will kick in January, amounting to about 7,000 yen for a standard household over a three-month period, according to the NHK report. Taxes on gasoline will be eliminated.

Japan also plans to establish a 10-year fund to enhance its shipbuilding capabilities, and enact measures to raise defense spending to 2% of its gross domestic product by fiscal year 2027.

I am not sure if this is accurate because 7,000 yen is like 45 US dollars?  On another source I found this:

Specific subsidies include one-time cash handouts of 20,000 yen (about $130) per child, which would require about 400 billion yen ($2.6 billion) in government funding and issuing rice vouchers or other coupons worth 3,000 yen (about $20) per person, to be distributed by local authorities.
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2025-11-23/japan-oks-135-billion-stimulus-package-to-help-revive-its-sluggish-economy

These amounts still seem low though. $20 rice voucher per person? How does that really help? 

I'm not actually sure if those numbers, per person, is actually right, BUT what matters is the total amount of money that's being injected into the economy. They wrote that it's the largest liquidity injection since COVID-19, then it must be relatively massive.

But why the stimulus package? I believe it's probably because the BOJ/Japanese government is expecting a liquidity crisis/economic crash and has front-ran it.

It is certainly possible but without any data that would just be a conspiracy theory. Do you have something?

I don't have "something" but a mere question. "WHY"?

If the economy is OK, then why the liquidity injection despite the rising inflation?

  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Dogedegen]

I'm not actually sure if those numbers, per person, is actually right, BUT what matters is the total amount of money that's being injected into the economy. They wrote that it's the largest liquidity injection since COVID-19, then it must be relatively massive.

Relatively massive to what, the COVID stimulus? It is not. The COVID one was in total more than $1 trillion according to AI. So this one is just a bit more than 10%. I guess the news headlines can be quite misleading since something can be the biggest stimulus since the COVID one but still relatively small compared to that one. Still that does not mean that it is small overall, when not compared to the COVID one. It is still pretty big since there is no observable crisis of that kind going on.

I don't have "something" but a mere question. "WHY"?

If the economy is OK, then why the liquidity injection despite the rising inflation?

  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Well that is fair to ask still, I just wanted to check if you had something more. The issue here is that economies all over the world are not in a good situation. Some are better off than others right now, but no place is experiencing those golden times. The question is always what do you do to improve the situation? There are many measures of relief that are tried, some work better than others. For example a direct stimulus that gives you money to spend on whatever you want is among one of the worst options. Many people, especially poor ones will squander it on shit that will actually not help their situation at all. People are just terrible with easy money. Something like reducing taxes on gasoline is slightly better, but more systemic improvements are the best.

I am not saying that there is no issue here, but I want to see some data that indicates this so that we can explore it more deeply.