Economic and fiscal policy minister Heizo Takenaka said Sunday the government will draft a comprehensive package for combating deflation in the near future that includes steps aimed at accelerating the disposal of nonperforming loans at commercial banks.
Takenaka said on a Sunday morning TV program that the proposed package will have four pillars: solving the bad-loan mess, a call for further monetary easing by the Bank of Japan, steps to reinvigorate the equity market, and safety nets centering on ensuring liquidity for small businesses.
The basic idea of the package will be discussed at a meeting of the Council of Economic and Fiscal Policy on Tuesday, and its outline is expected to be drafted as early as the end of this week, government sources said.