The government pledged Friday not to increase its new debt issuance over the next two years but failed to specify how to restore Japan's precarious fiscal health, with a decision yet to be made on the politically sensitive issue of a sales tax hike.

In an outline of its medium-term fiscal reform plan, presented at a meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration also promised to reduce wasteful spending and allocate financial resources to prior policy measures, aiming to achieve its fiscal consolidation goal.

The outline, however, provided no details of how thorough expenditure cuts will be implemented.