Tokyo, Aug. 25 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government plans to spend 1.4 trillion yen additionally from its fiscal 2021 reserve funds to procure more coronavirus vaccines and finance COVID-19 measures, informed sources said Wednesday.

More than 1 trillion yen will be used to buy COVID-19 vaccines intended for third shots for fully vaccinated people and coronavirus drugs.

The additional spending is expected to be decided at a cabinet meeting as early as Friday.

For fiscal 2021, which started in April, the government set aside 5 trillion yen in the reserve funds to finance coronavirus measures.

So far, the government has decided to use 1,012 billion yen for special grants to local governments to help them cover costs to buy vaccines and provide financial support to businesses hit hard by the coronavirus crisis.

This time, the government will also secure more funds for an interest-free loan program to help finance the living expenses of households struggling with the coronavirus crisis, the sources said.