Tetsushi Kajimoto

Japan's new prime minister will pursue economic structural reforms through a mixed bag of policies that target specific industries, rather than a grand strategy to reshape society and boost long-term growth.

G7 finance ministers on Friday backed an extension of a G20 temporary freeze in debt payments and recognized the need for broad debt relief in the future, while taking aim at G20 member China over a lack of transparency in its lending.

Japan will consider increasing financial incentives for environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment, top government spokesman Katsunobu Kato said on Friday.

Most Japanese firms want the Tokyo Olympics to go ahead next summer with restrictions on spectator numbers, saying while any boost to the economy would be limited, it would be better than nothing, a Reuters survey showed.

The United States, China and other G20 countries on Friday agreed for the first time on a common approach for restructuring government debt as the coronavirus crisis leaves some poorer nations at risk of default.

Japan's exports extended declines in October but at the slowest pace in almost two years, helped by improvement in Chinese- and U.S.-demand for cars and other items as the world's third-largest economy emerged from its worst postwar slump.

Japan's ruling party will call on the government to promote environmental investment with a major decade-long spending programme for the country, whose Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has made a green society a key policy priority.

Japan is unlikely to meet its goal of eliminating greenhouse gases by 2050, a majority of firms in the country said in a Reuters poll, underscoring the challenges Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga faces as he strives for a greener society.

Almost three quarters of Japanese firms expect to keep capital spending steady or raise it in the coming business year from the fiscal year ending in March, a Reuters monthly survey showed, despite broader uncertainty over the coronavirus resurgence.

Japan's government on Wednesday picked five brokerage firms to lead an initial public offering (IPO) of shares in Tokyo's metro operator, the Ministry of Finance said, paving the way for progress in one of the country's major privatisation efforts.