The huge national debt and budget deficit are not sustainable long term and fiscal reforms are critically important for the government, a deputy chief of the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday.
Naoyuki Shinohara, a deputy managing director of the IMF, also said Japanese banks may need to secure more capital to be ready for future challenges.
"It is important to reach a specific agreement on how to restore public finances as soon as possible," Shinohara, a former vice finance minister for international affairs, told a news conference after joining a seminar in Tokyo.