The government cannot accept a request from the International Monetary Fund to conduct an assessment of Japan's financial system, Financial Services Agency chief Hakuo Yanagisawa said Friday.
"With the current resources of the Financial Services Agency, we cannot afford to accept the assessment. I want (the IMF) to wait for a while," Yanagisawa told a news conference, effectively confirming a media report that the IMF has asked the government to accept its inspection of the financial health of Japanese banks.
Yanagisawa said he will convey Japan's stance when he meets IMF Managing Director Horst Koehler in the United States next week.
The IMF has been assessing national financial systems following the Asian financial crisis. Countries that have accepted IMF scrutiny include India, Iran, Poland, Hungary, Canada and South Africa.