The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is planning to relax loan repayment terms for small and midsize companies that took advantage of an expired government guarantee and are now having difficulty paying back the funds, ministry officials said Thursday.
METI chief Takeo Hiranuma is expected to unveil the plan at today's gathering of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, which is in charge of compiling an antideflation package by the end of the month.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda had told reporters earlier Thursday that the government had moved up the date of the council meeting from Wednesday in order to accelerate efforts to combat deflation.