Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori said Monday he plans to set up a new government panel to boost real estate liquidity in an effort to bolster the economy.
The government will establish an "urban development office" that will draw up specific steps for improving real estate liquidity to help resolve the bad debts weighing heavily on Japanese banks, Mori told reporters here.
Mori made the comment after meeting in the White House with U.S. President George W. Bush the same day, in which the president urged Mori to tackle the sour loans problem.
The tripartite ruling coalition had called on the government to set up the office, which will work in conjunction with local municipalities.
Real estate securitization should be promoted to boost liquidity in the land market and individuals should be given tax incentives to buy property, the coalition said in an emergency economic package compiled earlier in the month.