TOKYO -- Japanese lawmakers passed a record-breaking fiscal 2019 budget on Wednesday that includes 2.03 trillion yen ($18.4 billion) in measures aimed at softening the impact of a looming consumption tax hike on an economy already facing broader uncertainty.
The 101.46 trillion yen budget, approved by the upper house, includes programs to prop up consumer spending, making it extremely difficult for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to back out of the planned tax increase at this point. The consumption tax is slated to go up to 10% from the current 8% in October.
