Japan PM Shinzo Abe announces $17.8 bn economic stimulus package

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will order cabinet ministers on Monday to compile a stimulus package worth around 2 trillion yen ($17.80 billion) to increase spending on child care and education, two government sources told Reuters.

Abe is expected to announce a snap election on Monday to take advantage of improved ratings and disorganised opposition parties, and the stimulus package could be a way to lure voters during the election campaign.

However, Abe has drawn criticism that he is using the election to distract voters from two cronyism scandals that rattled his government earlier this year.