Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Friday that his ministry will try to introduce a consolidated corporate tax system as early as possible in fiscal 2002 and make it retroactive to April 1.

"The bill for consolidated taxation will be enacted sometime after the beginning of next fiscal year," Shiokawa told a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. "And it will be retroactive to the beginning of the fiscal year."

Although the introduction of the consolidated tax system had originally been planned for April 1, Shiokawa said last week that it would be delayed by one year due to the amount of work needed to prepare the related legislation.