A key government panel discussing the privatization of tollways agreed Thursday to urge the government to "immediately review" the implementation of all ongoing expressway construction work.
Three of the panel's seven members -- Naoki Inose, Masatake Matsuda and Kazuaki Tanaka -- had called for "a temporary freeze" on all ongoing construction work.
During Thursday's meeting, however, the panel decided that the wording in its upcoming interim report should be watered down from "freeze" to "review," fearing political resistance over the sensitive issue.