Following is the gist of remarks made by Mr. Takashi Imai, Chairman, Keidanren, on the scheduled press conference following monthly Chairman and Vice Chairmen's Meeting on 3 July 2000. Translation is rush and tentative, and sequence of the gist does not necessarily coincide with words delivered.
Regarding zero percent interest rate policy by the Bank of Japan, I still believe that the overall situation has not changed since June. Therefore the policy must be maintained until new indices such as a sound new quarterly GDP figure, etc.
Regarding the issue of using public money to salvage Sogo Department Stores, the government is not using a fresh new tax, but instead withdrawing an existing reserve. The decision to use the reserve fund was made, I believe, in order to improve probability of collecting the loans. Even though I don't personally like this decision to write off Sogo loans, I do also understand the governmental effort to minimize spill over effect such as unemployment. Yet, the loan balance is huge, and it would take years for Sogo to repay the remaining loans. Another thing to remember is that this Sogo case should not be easily considered a preemptive example.
Arrest of Mr. Nakao (former Minister of Construction and a member of House of Representative) is regretful, especially if police conviction is true. Public works must always be conducted in most transparent ways.
Towards the new cabinet to be announced within days, I hope to repeat the same request I made to Mr. Mori when he became the Prime Minister. They are: (1) Maintain fiscal and monetary policies; (2) economic restructuring to allow IT businesses to prosper must be implemented; and (3) a grand design of future taxation system, social pension scheme, and regional (local) government system including fiscal and tax systems must be presented to the public to improve credibility of the government for the future. I might pass these messages again as soon as the new cabinet will be inaugurated.