TOKYO: Japan’s latest stimulus package aimed at softening the economic blow from the coronavirus pandemic is estimated to boost real gross domestic product by about 2.0%, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Thursday.

Japan’s government last month approved a new $1.1 trillion stimulus package that includes significant direct spending, as the hit to economic activity from the virus threatens to push the economy deeper into recession.

The 117 trillion yen stimulus followed another package of a similar magnitude rolled out in April. The government estimated the lift to real GDP from recent stimulus measures, including the latest package, to be about 6.4%.