Japan must promote wage, investment growth, says PM Kishida

TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday the government must continue to promote growth in wages and investment for the economy to make a full exit from deflation.

Mr. Kishida said one of his administration’s achievements had been to lay the groundwork for pulling Japan fully out of deflation.

“In order to fully emerge from a deflation-prone economy, we must accelerate wage and investment growth, and ensure we achieve our goal to expand Japan’s gross domestic product to 600 trillion yen ($4.10 trillion),” Mr. Kishida told a news conference.

Mr. Kishida made the remark at a news conference where he said he would step down as ruling party leader and not run in the party’s leadership race expected in September. – Reuters