Japan's Abe pledges 'unprecedented' stimulus to combat virus fallout

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe holds a news conference on Japan's response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at his official residence in Tokyo, Japan, March 28, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Saturday his government will compile an unprecedentedly big economic stimulus that will include cash payouts to households and small firms hit by the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

"We will lay out a stimulus package of unprecedented size that will exceed the one compiled after the Lehman crisis," Abe told a news conference, adding that the package will include fiscal, monetary and tax measures.