Finance

Finance

New finance minister appointed in Japan

06 January 2010 14:32 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA-Economics. Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama named Naoto Kan, the deputy premier, to replace Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii, who stepped down over ill health, Bloomberg reported.
Kan will remain deputy prime minister, Hatoyama told reporters today in Tokyo. The statement ends days of speculation over the future of Fujii, 77, who was hospitalized Dec. 28 for high blood pressure and exhaustion after overseeing the compilation of the governmentâ€™s 2010 budget proposal.
Kan, 63, inherits an economy plagued by persistent deflation that Sony Corp. Vice Chairman Ryoji Chubachi warned yesterday may cause a â€œdouble-dipâ€ recession this year. He also will take charge of managing the worldâ€™s largest public debt, with investors likely to monitor his commitment to averting an increase in government bond issuance.
Fujii is the first Cabinet member to depart after the Democratic Party of Japan gained power in September by unseating the Liberal Democratic Party, which dominated the nationâ€™s political landscape for half a century. Hatoyama had asked Fujii, who helmed the Finance Ministry in 1993, to postpone retirement and run in the August lower-house election.