Japan economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimaru warns against negative rates

Japan's economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said that the country should support the struggling businesses rather than trying to spark demand to handle the economic crisis that's looming large amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to reports, Nishimura wants the Bank of Japan, which is the central bank of the country to keep its interest rates way above the negative territory, saying that the island-state is not at a stage yet where it has to stimulate consumption. 

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Nishimura while talking to the media also said that the Bank of Japan should rather focus on providing financial support to smaller banks, so they could in turn help small businesses with fundings. The Bank of Japan for the last two months has been easing monetary policy to help lift financial strains from corporates. According to reports, The Bank of Japan is buying assets across the country to pump money into the economy. It has also capped its long-term borrowing rates to zero and short-term costs at -0.1%. 

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$2.2 trillion spending packages

Under Nishimura's leadership, the economy ministry of Japan announced a $2.2 trillion spending packages to revive the economy that has suffered a huge blow for the first time since World War II. However, the country is still in recession with the cabinet recently announcing an annual contraction of the economy at 2.2% in January-March. Nishimura also stressed on a better future if Japan manages to avoid a second surge in coronavirus cases. Japan was under a state of emergency for the last two months, but it was mainly concentrated in the major cities, such as Tokyo and Osaka. 

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According to figures by Johns Hopkins University, Japan has recorded more than 17,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, of which 917 people have lost their lives. The mortality and infection rates in Japan is comparatively lower than in other developed countries in the world. Meanwhile, the world has registered over 7 million infections and more than 4,00,000 deaths.

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