TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will direct his government to draft a set of economic stimulus measures as early as next month, aiming to boost the country's growth potential and counteract the downside risks of inflation.

The package is expected to include measures to encourage businesses to invest in cutting-edge fields and boost worker pay to counter the steady decline in real, inflation-adjusted wages. These measures would fit with the aims of Kishida's "new capitalism" initiative, which seeks to create a "virtuous cycle of growth and distribution" with sustained wage gains that outpace price rises.