Prime Minister Taro Aso plans to pledge the creation of 1.6 million new jobs in three years as part of a new growth strategy he will announce in a policy speech to be delivered at the Diet, according to a draft of the speech.
Aso will stress creating employment opportunities and new markets by taking various steps in an integrated manner on infrastructure improvement, research and development advancement, as well as deregulation and reforms.
He will reiterate his intention to pave the way for a hike in the consumption tax starting from fiscal 2011, assuming the economy has turned around by then.