Thread by @patio11

Japan has a willingness to try out "weird" one-off policies which I wish more places would emulate.

Most recent one, to stimulate consumer demand in face of a consumption tax increase and have most of the stimulus hit smaller, "local" operations / core spending:

1) Central government delegates to cities/wards responsibility to sell coupon books.
2) Cities/wards send out offer to residents, offering them a booklet letting them purchase (up to five times) 1~5 tickets with face value 5,000 yen (~$50) for 4,000 yen each.
3) Buy at local PO.

4) These are cash equivalents which are restricted to stores participating in the scheme, which (by my casual perusal of the ones in Meguro) are largely local shops with a smattering of e.g. supermarkets.

Japan has been burned several times on selling cash equivalents below face value. (c.f. kalzumeus.com/2018/10/19/jap… for one notorious example)

This scheme appears to have at least considered "Maybe people will turn us into a money pump" by rate limiting, requiring ID, threats, etc.

The other big offset-the-tax-increase policy is a tie-up with the financial industry where, for ~8 months after the consumption tax went from 8% to 10%, they offered stores a way to give a 2% discount (nets to no increase) contingent on the customer using a cashless payment.

<personal opinion>
The financial industry has trouble making money w/ negative interest rates and said "Look, throw us a freaking bone and help with customer acquisition for payments revenue; we'll help SMBs have... extremely accurate books for tax season."
</personal opinion>