TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said he will focus on labour conditions before deciding fiscal policy but does not plan to implement a supplementary budget on the issue.
"What I am now concerned about most is whether the jobless rate and job seekers-to-vacancy ratio will worsen. If labour conditions deteriorate, we will take necessary fiscal action," he told reporters at a regular briefing.
"However, I have no plan to compile an extra budget for that purpose," he added. "I believe the economy is closer to entering a recovery path because the transport and distribution sector is beginning to show signs of life."
But asked whether the Cabinet Office assessment for May, to be released this afternoon, would show a fourth consecutive monthly downgrade, Shiokawa said: "I have heard that the results will be softer so I'm concerned."
On the foreign exchange market, he said: "We are continuously closely watching the dollar/yen movement but this is not a situation on which I have to make any comment."
In the long-run, "I'm not concerned over the dollar/yen trading because Japan's price conditions are stable and Japan/U.S. relations are also stable," he said.