Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Tuesday that he will strive to carry out the two-step approach to fiscal reform unveiled this week by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, although he ruled out an immediate shift to belt-tightening policies that could hurt the fragile economy.
"I will strive to observe the 30 trillion yen annual limit on new government bond issuance, which symbolizes the beginning of new structural reform," Shiokawa told a regular news conference.
"It is inappropriate, however, to compile a contractional budget, because the most important task now is to achieve an economic recovery," he said.