(VOVWORLD) - Japan's newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Tuesday that her government will draw up a stimulus package to address rising living costs.
Speaking at a press conference, Takaichi, who was elected Japan's first female minister earlier in the day, also ruled out an early dissolution of the House of Representatives for a snap election, saying her minority government will prioritize economic policies instead.
She pledged to "swiftly" abolish the provisional gasoline tax rate and increase the nontaxable income threshold from the current 1.03 million yen (6,800 USD) by "listening to opposition parties' opinions."
The economic measures are intended to "boost people's net income and reduce households' burden," Takaichi said. On the diplomatic front, Takaichi said she is looking forward to meeting with leaders from other countries at Association of Southeast Asian Nations-related meetings in Malaysia this weekend and an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit from late this month in South Korea.
Takaichi is Japan’s first female Prime Minister and the 66th PM of Japan since Ito Hirobumi became Japan’s first Prime Minister in 1885.