The Tokyo Stock Exchange closed this Monday with a fall of more than 2%, due to fears over the spread of Omicron variant of coronavirus in Europe and the United States.
The Nikkei index 225 of the main values fell 2.13%, or 607.87 points, to end the first session of the week at 27,937.81 points. For his part the Topix index it fell 2.17%, or 43.14 points, to 1,941.33 points.
Japan approves additional record budget to deal with Covid-19
The Parliament of Japan adopted a record additional budget on Monday to partly finance a massive stimulus plan announced last month by the prime minister to prop up the economy amid the persistence of the Covid-19.
This additional item amounting to 317,000 million dollars, which Equivalent to the GDP of countries like Colombia, Vietnam or Finland, will partly finance the massive stimulus plan announced last month by the prime minister, Fumio Kishida.
This plan includes assistance for families with minors, subsidies for small businesses, and a salary increase for nurses and other caregivers.
In the previous fiscal year, Japan adopted three extraordinary budget items to help the economy, given the decline in the manufacturing sector during the pandemic, which also affected the leisure and tourism sector.
This game also contemplates equipping the vaccination program of the country that has already delivered two doses of the vaccine to about 78% of the population and purchase of drugs for the treatment of Covid-19.
This plan also includes funds to relaunch local tourism, with direct financing of trips and hotels in the country, an initiative that had to be suspended in December 2020 due to the worsening health situation.
The country adds 18,400 deaths from Covid-19 for a total population of 126 million, despite the fact that its strategy avoided imposing strict confinements.
