Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa voiced confidence Friday that Japan will be able to clear its target of 0.5 percent growth in gross domestic product in fiscal 1999.
"I think the 0.5 percent growth target is appropriate as a policy goal," he told a regular news conference after a Cabinet meeting.
The government said earlier this year it will deliver 0.5 percent GDP growth in the new fiscal year, which began Thursday, following two years of contraction. Miyazawa also repeated his oft-stated contention that the government has no immediate plans to form a supplementary budget for the year.
The record 81.86 trillion yen budget for fiscal 1999 won parliamentary approval last month, clearing the way for an economic recovery. But the finance minister said he is not certain the economy has already bottomed out, noting there are conflicting views on this point.