In this Oct. 2, 2021 photo, people walk in Tokyo's Ginza area, after the lifting of the COVID-19 state of emergency. (Mainichi/Takehiko Onishi)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's government and ruling parties are considering providing 100,000 yen ($880) each for children aged 18 or younger in an attempt to ease the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, sources close to the matter said Friday.

       If all goes smoothly, the cash handout program will be included in a fresh economic stimulus worth "tens of trillions of yen" that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to craft by mid-November.

       In addition, the government and the country's ruling coalition led by the Liberal Democratic Party are planning to give 30,000 yen each in effect to holders of "My Number" national identification cards in an attempt to spur consumption in the pandemic-hit economy, the sources said.

       The measure is also aimed at promoting use of the unpopular ID card system. Komeito, the junior ruling coalition partner of the LDP, has sought for the government to provide 100,000 yen for all children aged 18 or younger under the economic package.

       The two measures are included in Komeito's campaign promises for Sunday's general election, in which the ruling coalition retained a comfortable majority in the House of Representatives.

       Some 3 trillion yen will be needed to provide shopping points worth 30,000 yen per person for about 100 million people in Japan. At present, only about 40 percent of all the eligible 126.7 million of Japan's population, including foreign residents, hold the cards.

       The ID card system that started to be used in 2016 issues a 12-digit number to each citizen and foreign resident in the country to incorporate various personal data such as those related to taxes and social security.

       The government has said the system will make a range of public services more convenient to use, but many people remain concerned about leakage of personal information.

       To finance the economic package, the government will draw up a supplementary budget for fiscal 2021 and seek to secure its parliamentary passage by the end of the year.

       As part of efforts to popularize the ID system, another government campaign to provide shopping points equivalent to 5,000 yen to each card holder has been under way, but it is scheduled to end in late December.

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