TOKYO (MNI) – Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said on Friday
that he is not considering a fourth supplementary budget for rebuilding
the quake-hit northeastern regions this fiscal year.
The government has to focus on drafting a third supplementary
budget to fund reconstruction programs first, and further emergency
fiscal spending “is not on my mind at this point,” he told reporters.
Some newspapers have reported that the government may compile a
fourth supplementary budget for fiscal 2011 as the growing global
uncertainty poses a threat to Japan’s export-led recovery.
Azumi said the talks held this week among the Greek, German and
French leaders were “a positive move,” adding that he will pay close
attention to market development as well as the weekend meeting of
European finance ministers which U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy
Geithner plans to attend.
Asked about selling government shares in Japan Tobacco Inc and
Tokyo Metro Co Ltd as a way of scaling back proposed tax hikes for
funding the reconstruction of disaster-hit regions, Azumi repeated that
it would be an “important option.”
Later on Friday, the government’s tax commission is scheduled to
release its proposals on how to fund extra fiscal spending.
tokyo@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4833 **
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