TOKYO: Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi&#39;s government backed on Wednesday $19 billion in additional spending to help Japanese households struggling with soaring everyday costs driven by the Iran war. The budget could reportedly be passed as soon as Friday in the legislature dominated by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and allies of Takaichi, who previously said the money would go toward easing petrol, electricity and gas costs. The extra budget was &quot;decided&quot; at a cabinet meeting, the prime minister&#39;s office said on its website. Top government spokesman Minoru Kihara told reporters at a news conference the cabinet had allocated 3.1135 trillion yen ($19 billion). That includes 2.5 trillion yen for a newly established &quot;contingency reserve&quot; for the situation in the Middle East, he said. &quot;Amid ongoing uncertainty in the situation in the Middle East, we have formulated this budget from the standpoint of minimizing risk,&quot; Kihara said. He added that the budget would allow for &quot;robust financial readiness&quot; and that the government would closely monitor future price trends to ensure that the daily lives of the public and economic activity are not disrupted. In May, leading potato chip maker Calbee unveiled a new grey packaging for 14 product lines, swapping its signature orange-and-yellow packets, with local media attributing the move to an ink shortage linked to the Iran war. Takaichi said the government expects to secure a stable supply of oil until next spring. She added that alternative supplies of naphtha, an oil byproduct used in a wide range of industries, from outside the Middle East, have recovered to more than 80% of their previous levels. Japan&#39;s central bank hiked its inflation forecasts in April and cut its growth projections after the Iran war sent oil prices soaring. Kihara said the supplementary budget would be covered by deficit-financing bonds. However, total bond issuance will not rise, he added, as some debt authorized in the previous fiscal year will not be issued due to expected tax revenues, among other factors.

Sanae Takaichi - (Photo: Sanae Takaichi's X Account)

Asia

Japan approved a ¥3.1 trillion ($19 billion) supplementary budget, including a large Middle East contingency fund, to cushion households from Iran war-driven rises in fuel, electricity, and gas costs.

Japan's govt backs $19B to dampen Iran war impact

NEW DELHI: The UN peacekeeping chief warned Tuesday that the &quot;indispensable&quot; role played by peacekeepers was facing challenges due to budget cuts, as funding shortfalls translate into troop reductions. &quot;We do not have a choice but to implement these reductions, which are due to the partial non-payment by some states,&quot; Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix told representatives from 32 UN troop-contributing countries. &quot;The international community is divided,&quot; he said in New Delhi. &quot;As a result, the appetite for collective responses to crises is diminishing.&quot; Shortfall in budget&nbsp;UN officials said earlier this month there was 16&ndash;17% shortfall in the peacekeeping budget, largely linked to US aid cuts. As a result, a 25% troop reduction will be spread across nine of the 11 peacekeeping missions. The United States was expected to contribute $1.3 billion of the $5.4 billion budget for 2025-2026 peacekeeping operations. But it has told the United Nations it will only pay around half that amount, or $682 million, which includes $85 million for a new international anti-gang mission in Haiti that was not in the original budget. Slashed foreign aid&nbsp;President Donald Trump has long claimed that international institutions have taken advantage of the United States and has slashed foreign aid. Lacroix emphasized the achievements of peacekeepers over the decades. &quot;The list, as we know, is very long of countries which successfully reached stability with the support of peacekeeping,&quot; he said. &lsquo;Indispensable&rsquo; role&nbsp;&quot;They make the difference between life and death for hundreds of thousands of civilians. They monitor ceasefires. They help build national key capabilities. Their role is indispensable.&quot; Despite the budget cuts, the overall security landscape has &quot;deteriorated&quot;, he added, demanding more of the truncated force. &quot;We&#39;re facing emerging drivers of conflict such as the impact of climate change, the role of international global terrorism and... the negative aspect of digital technology.&quot;

Americas

UN officials said earlier this month there was 16–17% shortfall in the budget, largely linked to US cuts; as a result, 25% troop reduction will be spread across nine of the 11 peacekeeping missions.

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Japan's govt backs $19B to dampen Iran war impact

'Indispensable' peacekeeping operations threatened by cuts, UN warns

Japan's govt backs $19B to dampen Iran war impact