New industrial revival minister Kazuyoshi Kaneko shrugged off accusations that the Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan has a "small potatoes" approach to rescuing ailing firms.
He called for a long-range perspective in judging the body's performance.
Kaneko, who was assigned to his first stint as a Cabinet minister by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, stressed that the work of the IRCJ is time-consuming.