As for the pace of consolidation, it is important that it should be measured, with each step taken in confidence that the economy remains on a sustainable growth path. That is how fiscal consolidation has proceeded to date.
The Japanese government, while establishing a precise target for how much they intend to reduce fiscal expenditure, aims to achieve a surplus on its primary balance by the early 2010s. The primary balance deficit, which expanded to around 6 percent of GDP in fiscal 2003, is expected to fall to around 0.9 percent this fiscal year.