Reuters reports that Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said that Japan's latest economic stimulus package to cushion the blow from the coronavirus pandemic is likely to boost the economy most strongly next fiscal year.

The $708 billion stimulus package, which was endorsed by the cabinet last week, is expected to boost gross domestic product by around 0.5% in the current fiscal year through March, 2.5% in fiscal 2021, and 0.6% from fiscal 2022 onwards, Nishimura told reporters.

The boost from the new stimulus package is likely to lead to creation or support of jobs for about 600,000 people until the end of next fiscal year, the government said in an estimate released Tuesday.

The package, which includes about 40 trillion yen ($384.36 billion) of fresh fiscal spending, contains initiatives aimed at lowering carbon emissions and boosting adoption of digital technology.