Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan faced off Wednesday with Heizo Takenaka, who was a key economic adviser to former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, and differed sharply with him over whether the government should put priority on supporting corporations or households to spark economic growth.

Takenaka, now a Keio University professor, was invited to a meeting of a government panel on economic growth strategy. He argued that the supply side should be given priority and called for empowerment of corporations through tax cuts, deregulation and privatization of the postal services.

"The basis of economic growth should always be on the supply side," Takenaka, who was internal affairs minister and minister in charge of postal privatization and fiscal policy, told the panel.