Japan pm vows steps to cushion rising electricity bills

TokYO Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged on Monday to take steps to cushion the blow from rising electricity bills and maximize benefits to the economy from a weak yen, such as by resuscitating inbound tourism.

In a policy speech to parliament, Kishida stressed that revitalising the economy was his top priority and he said that dealing with rising inflation and the fallout from the yen's recent sharp falls will be one of the things the administration will focus on. A big challenge Japan will face in the next spring is the risk of a rise in electricity bills. Kishida said that we will take unprecedented measures that will relieve the burden on households and companies.

He said that the government will compile a package of measures by the end of the month to protect people's livelihood from rising prices.

Kishida said that Japan will fully open its borders to overseas visitors from October 11 to revitalise inbound tourism, which had ground to a halt due to entry restrictions imposed to deal with the COVID-19 epidemic.

He said that foreign tourists will spend over 5 trillion yen $35 billion in Japan annually as a result of policy measures to maximize the benefits of a weak yen.

Kishida said that Japan would take steps to benefit from the weak yen by attracting chip and battery plants and promoting exports of agriculture products.

Kishida's administration is under pressure to take measures to cushion the economic blow from the weak yen, which boosts exporters' profits but hurts households by inflating the cost of importing already expensive fuel and raw material prices.

Japan intervened in the foreign exchange market on Sept. 22 to buy yen for the first time since 1998, in an attempt to shore up the battered currency after the central bank stuck with ultra-low interest rates.