A top Japanese bureaucrat s recently published remarks critical of generous stimulus promises made by political party leaders to fight slow wage growth and low inflation ahead of the election reminded voters of the chronic lack of political commitment to fiscal discipline.
Comments by the vice finance minister quoted in a monthly magazine have inflamed ruling camp divisions, and seized attention, just weeks before the Lower House election.
Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said Tuesday he sees no problem with a warning by the ministry's top bureaucrat against a "lavish spending" policy proposed by lawmakers, saying it only reflects his view on fiscal consolidation. Suzuki defended Vice Finance Minister Koji Yano, who recently contributed an opinion piece to…