Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki told the Parliament on Friday that the country's fiscal situation is "severe" and that inflation has not yet reached conditions for a stable and sustainable 2% target.
Suzuki added that the current joint statement by the government and the Bank of Japan (BoJ), which includes goals such as combatting deflation in the long term and stable growth, is still a challenge and that overcoming it would require achieving wage growth. He did not rule out amending the statement but said the government will have to discuss it with the new BoJ governor, following Haruhiko Kuroda's retirement in April.
