Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Friday he will counter negative views expressed by the International Monetary Fund regarding Japan's economic prospects when he meets with his Group of Seven counterparts in Washington.
"At the G7 meeting, I plan to strongly oppose recent views on Japan expressed by the IMF and foreign observers," Shiokawa told a regularly scheduled news conference.
The IMF's World Economic Outlook report, released Thursday, says Japan's economy will contract sharply this year and post a slight rebound in 2003.