U.S. at G7 to urge reforms to attain 3% growth

WASHINGTON (Kyodo) The United States will urge Japan during a Group of Seven top financial meeting this week to advance structural reforms to attain a potential economic growth of 3 percent instead of 1.5 percent, a senior U.S. Treasury official said Thursday.

While stressing the need for "more lasting" sustainable growth, the United States will also call on Japan to keep intact its ongoing policy of quantitative monetary easing to completely stem its deflation, Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs John Taylor told reporters.

"The deflation problem has become less serious, but as the Bank of Japan has indicated, it's not gone yet," Taylor said in a press briefing a day before finance ministers and central bank governors from the G7 economic powers gather in Washington for a two-day meeting.