Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa voiced readiness Monday to earmark budgetary spending for urban redevelopment projects to revitalize Japan's land market.
"There are still some funds left. If necessary, we could set aside more expenditures," he told the House of Councilors Budget Committee.
Miyazawa said using land effectively and correcting land price levels would be a significant step.
Real estate prices have been on a continued downward trend, reducing the value of land held by banks as collateral and exacerbating their bad loan problems.
Miyazawa made the remarks in reference to the ruling coalition's proposal that the government create an "urban redevelopment" headquarters to reactivate land deals. The step is one of the pillars of a package of emergency economic measures proposed earlier this month by the coalition.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda also expressed support for the proposed headquarters, saying, "It is important for real estate transactions in cities to be facilitated. I hope we can come to a conclusion and act on this plan as soon as possible."