Economic development in the January-March period — especially in the areas of employment and bank recapitalization — is crucial to achieve the government's 0.5 percent growth target for fiscal 1999, Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said Monday.
In an interview marking his reappointment in Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's reshuffled Cabinet, Miyazawa expressed concern over whether the fiscal 1999 budget appropriations for employment support will be effectively used. "Sufficient amounts of money are available," he said, but added that the issue involves people, indicating difficulties could be expected during the new fiscal year beginning April.
Both management and labor should jointly deal with the problem at upcoming spring wage talks, he said. Joblessness may rise if corporate sentiment goes from bad to worse in the current quarter, the finance chief said.