TOKYO (Kyodo)–Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Friday that Japan’s efforts for fiscal reconstruction so far haven’t been sufficient, so he wants to develop a vision for the next two or three years, possibly from the beginning of 2011.
“Regarding fiscal consolidation, I don’t think it is anywhere near enough,” Kan said in a group interview with major media outlets after his Cabinet approved a record-high draft budget of 92.41 trillion yen for the next fiscal year.
“On such issues, I want to explain many things to the public after the turn of the year while setting the direction by putting the next two and three years into perspective,” he said, when asked about how he hopes to restore the country’s finances and the possibility of raising the consumption tax rate.
Kan said he may touch on part of his new vision when he holds his first news conference of 2011 on Jan. 4.
Kan, however, defended the Cabinet’s endorsement of the largest-ever budget for the year starting April, saying it was needed to revitalize Japan’s economy and society.
He called on opposition parties, which now control the upper chamber of parliament, to cooperate for the early passage of the budget during the regular Diet session due to begin in January.
On the diplomatic front, Kan reiterated his resolve to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps’s Futenma Air Station within Okinawa Prefecture in line with an accord struck in late May with Washington.
But he said Japan won’t put a deadline on settling the relocation issue as strong opposition persists in Okinawa.
“The U.S. side fully understands about this point,” Kan said, arguing that settlement of the issue will not be a prerequisite for his planned visit to the United States around next spring to release a joint statement with U.S. President Barack Obama on the two countries’ longstanding security alliance.
Kan also said he has yet to decide whether to replace Japan’s ambassador to Russia soon.
Government sources said Thursday that Japan is considering replacing Ambassador to Russia Masaharu Kono as early as January following his failure to obtain the right information beforehand on Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to a disputed island off Hokkaido in November.
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