Japan's prime minister-designate plans to dissolve the lower house of parliament as soon as possible to maintain monetary easing

Tokyo - Japan's prime minister-designate Shigeru Ishiba revealed he would dissolve the lower house of parliament as soon as possible and said the country must maintain monetary easing to keep borrowing costs low.

Asked in an interview with public broadcaster NHK on Sunday whether he would dissolve the lower house soon, Ishiba responded: "I don't deny that there are various possibilities."

Although Ishiba Shigeru did not specify the specific date of the dissolution of the National Assembly, but a number of Liberal Democratic Party cadres said that he may dissolve the House of Representatives in October, the announcement time or scheduled for October 15, the vote count date is 27; The alternative is to issue an announcement on October 19 and vote the votes on November 10.

Asked whether the central bank would raise interest rates further, Ishiba said: "This is a matter for the boj to decide, and the BOJ's responsibility is to achieve price stability in close cooperation with the government... . From the government's point of view, monetary policy must remain accommodative given the current economic situation."

Ishiba has often criticized the central bank's aggressive easing policies in the past, and it was unclear whether his comments meant he would take a more dovish stance when he takes office. However, after his election as LDP president on September 27, he indicated that monetary policy would remain loose overall, but he also revealed that he did not rule out further rate rises. Interest rates remain close to zero.

The BOJ ended its negative interest rate policy in March and raised short-term borrowing costs to 0.25 per cent in July, marking the end of a decade of aggressive easing. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said the central bank would consider raising interest rates further if Japan made sustained progress toward its 2% inflation target, also in line with the board's expectations.

On fiscal policy, Ishiba Shigeru revealed that a package of measures will be developed as soon as possible to ease the impact of rising living costs on the economy, focusing on supporting low-income families.

It is reported that Katsunobu Kato will be appointed as finance minister

Shigeru Ishiba will officially take office as Japan's 102nd prime minister on Tuesday and form a new cabinet on the same day. He plans to name Katsunobu Kato, 68, as finance minister, Kyodo News reported. Kato has played a key role in several administrations, including guiding Japan through challenges during the coronavirus pandemic. Before entering politics, he worked at the Ministry of Finance.

It is understood that Kato advocates a balance between maintaining fiscal health and pursuing growth. In an interview with Bloomberg News in August, he said Japan should continue to push for "dynamic adjustments" in interest rates and prices, noting that a prolonged period of interest rate and price stagnation had "created structural distortions."

In addition, the finance ministry will finalize the budget for the new fiscal year starting in April by the end of this year. Due to increased defense spending and rising social security costs, ministries requested a record budget of 1.17 trillion yen.

In addition to naming Kato as finance minister, two people familiar with the matter said Ishiba would name former defense Minister Takashi Iwaya, 67, as foreign minister in the new cabinet.

People familiar with the matter also said that Ishiba Shigeru proposed to appoint former prime minister Yoshihide Suga as deputy president of the Liberal Democratic Party, and has consulted the other side's wishes, Suga agreed.