Staff writers
As calls mounted from at home and abroad for Tokyo to take more pump-priming measures, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto simply reiterated his resolve Monday to boost the economy without mentioning specific steps.
Hashimoto, who remains noncommittal about whether he will concentrate on stimulating the economy or adhere to a policy of austerity, repeated in his policy speech for 1998 that he will maintain a stance of fiscal reconsolidation while trying to boost consumption.