G7 to focus on Japan, U.S.

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa and Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami will emphasize Japan's resolve to employ fiscal and monetary policies to achieve a quick economic recovery when the Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors gather this weekend in Palermo, Sicily.

The latest G7 meeting, to be held Saturday in the port city, comes at a crucial time for the world's two largest economies. While an economic slowdown is crystallizing in the United States, Japan is increasingly expected to play a more active role to help sustain global economic growth.

The G7 finance chiefs are thus likely to share their concerns over the impact of the U.S. slowdown on the global economy and to confirm their commitment to policy efforts to minimize its negative effects, Japanese government officials said.