(Recasts with details, context on Japan's economy)
By Satoshi Sugiyama and Kentaro Sugiyama
TOKYO, March 15 (Reuters) - Japan's ruling party on
Wednesday proposed fresh steps to cushion the economic blow from
rising living costs, including cash payouts to low-income
households.
Koichi Hagiuda, the Liberal Democratic Party's policy
council chair, told reporters the party expects the plan to
include payouts worth 30,000 yen ($222) to low-income
households.
The proposal also called for steps to curb utility bills and
moderate price rises for imported wheat.
Kishida last week instructed the ruling coalition to propose
a package of measures to counter rising prices, aiming to shore
up a fragile economy still hurting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Japan's core consumer inflation hit 4.2% in January, a fresh
41-year high and more than double the central bank's 2% target,
as companies pass on higher raw material costs to households.
Japan's economy narrowly averted a recession in the final
months of 2022 after contracting in the third quarter, data
showed last week, highlighting the fragile state of consumer
spending.
Incoming Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda has stressed the
need to keep monetary policy ultra-loose until the economy is on
a stronger footing with higher wage growth accompanying the rise
in inflation.
($1 = 134.7000 yen)
(Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama and Kentaro Sugiyama; Writing by
Leika Kihara; Editing by Tom Hogue and Edwina Gibbs)
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