Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told the leader of a junior party in the coalition government that he would "introduce strong measures to counter rising prices", the head of the Komeito party, Tetsuo Saito, told reporters on Tuesday.
Asked about Saito's comment, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a press conference that what Ishiba meant was to mobilise policy steps laid out in the extra budget for the current fiscal year ending this month and the draft budget for the new year, and he was not referring to fresh expenditure.
