TOKYO -- The Bank of Japan on Friday launched a 30 trillion yen ($278 billion) program to support small businesses, moving in step with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government to keep the sector alive amid the economic crisis sparked by the coronavirus pandemic.
In an effort to showcase their coordinated campaign, BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda and Finance Minister Taro Aso appeared before the press together late Friday, in the first such move since the crisis following Britain's referendum vote to leave the European Union in 2016.
