Japan backs €169bn stimulus package

The Japanese Cabinet has approved a fresh stimulus spending of more than 20 trillion yen (€169bn), rushing to fulfil campaign pledges to break the world’s third-biggest economy out of its deflationary slump.

The country’s prime minister Shinzo Abe announced the decision today at a news conference where he said the new measures were intended to add 2% to Japan’s economic growth and contribute 600,000 new jobs.