Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka pressed 12 ministries Thursday to work harder to swiftly compile deregulatory measures to boost the economy.
In a hastily arranged meeting at the Prime Minister's Official Residence, Muraoka urged officials at 12 ministries to abandon traditional ways of doing things and promote structural reform.
"No excuse will be accepted justifying that such and such regulation cannot be lifted. Both industries and bureaucrats should give up vested interests," Muraoka told the officials.
Muraoka said the main business targets include information and communications, land utilization, distribution, home care for ailing elderly, and small and medium-size firms. The top government spokesman called on the ministries to draft the measures within the following week so they can be finalized and announced in mid-November.
Muraoka said those ministries that maintain they need more time to implement deregulation and the names of bureaucrats and industry people who oppose deregulation will be made public. He added that he has worked closely with Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto toward drawing up economic measures.
Muraoka's firm resolution comes amid mounting public calls for such measures after recent economic indexes indicated the nation's economy remains in a slump. Deregulatory steps will be the centerpiece of such a package because the government cannot afford additional spending for items such as public works projects, while making strenuous efforts to salvage the national budget from its sea of debts.