Japan's Economic Policies Criticized; G-7 Nations Call for Tax Cuts, Public-Works Spending to End Slump
Japan found itself uncomfortably in the spotlight today as top officials from the other industrialized countries declared that Tokyo had not done enough to stimulate its economy and help lift its Asian neighbors out of their economic crisis.</br></br>Emerging from a daylong conference around the corner from Buckingham Palace, finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven nations said that additional tax cuts and public-works spending would be necessary for Japan to recover from its seven-year economic slump.</br></br>"The broadly shared view coming out of our meeting was that it was important for the rest of Asia that Japan once again have strong economic growth," said U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin.</br></br>But Tokyo's new finance minister, Hikaru Matsunaga, adopted a defiant stance following the meeting, where he told his Western counterparts that a recently announced package of financial reforms and limited tax cuts for businesses and investors had not been given a fair hearing nor sufficient time to work.</br></br>"I do think the measures that have been taken so far are not too small," said Matsunaga, who emphasized that his government has no plans to announce any further steps.