Mistaken subsidy of 360,000 USD for a household
JapanThe Abu town government apologized when it failed to collect 46.3 million yen ($360,000) in Covid-19 benefits that were mistakenly transferred to a family, 463 times the normal level.
Norihiko Hanada, the head of Abu town, Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan on April 22 announced that the wrong subsidy amount could not be recovered because the account holder had used it up.
This Covid-19 support amount was transferred to the above family account by Abu town officials on April 8, while according to regulations, each household can only receive 100,000 yen ($780).
The Abu town government held a press conference on April 15, bowing to the people and pledging to recover the wrong amount. However, the family claims to have “spent all the money” so it can’t return it and is “ready to take responsibility”.
The family did not explain how much money they spent and for what. Town officials were unable to check their accounts, so they worked with police and lawyers, pledging to “do their best to correct the error”.
Town mayor Abu Norihiko Hanada (left) and Deputy Mayor Takao Nakano bow their heads in apology for not being able to recover the wrongly transferred subsidy, during a press conference on April 22. Image: Yahoo News.
Town officials are still negotiating with the head of the household about the refund of the subsidy.
The Japanese government since last year has launched many support packages for people and businesses facing difficulties because of Covid-19, including a policy of granting 100,000 yen tax-free to each household. These subsidies are part of Japan’s plan to ensure economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic, amid the complicated developments of the Covid-19 epidemic and escalating prices.
Duc Trung (According to NHK/Yahoo News)
at Blogtuan.info – Source: vnexpress.net – Read the original article here
