Japanese office workers walk on a street in front of the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. (Photo: Reuters) Hanoi (VNA) - Japan will launch a subsidy programme to encouragedomestic manufacturers to transfer their overseas production bases to SoutheastAsia, as the coronavirus pandemic has greatly disrupted their supply chainsheavily dependent on China.
The 23.5 billion yen (220 million USD) programme, incorporated into thegovernment's emergency stimulus package to ease the economic fallout from thepandemic, will help firms diversify their supply chains by financiallyassisting the construction of production facilities as well as feasibilitystudies in ASEAN countries, Japan’s Kyodo news reported.
The initiative came after many automakers and other manufacturers suffered ashortage of parts produced in China after the new coronavirus outbreak startedlate last year in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
In another effort to reinforce supply chains, the Japanese government willspend 220 billion yen to promote domestic output of items that are currentlyheavily imported from certain areas. Also included in the stimulus, thesubsidies will financially support the relocation of Japanese firms' overseasproduction sites back home.
The programme will also target manufacturers of items essential for Japanesepeople to "lead a healthy life" amid the outbreak, including facemasks and alcohol sanitizers. They can receive subsidies when they newly openfactories or boost their existing output capacity in Japan./.
VNA
