Business leaders call for prompt measures to lift economy+

TOKYO, Sept. 24 Kyodo - Business leaders called on the new Cabinet of Prime Minister Taro Aso on Wednesday to promptly implement stimulus measures to buoy up the sagging Japanese economy.

Fujio Mitarai, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, the nation's most
powerful business lobby known as Nippon Keidanren, said, ''We want (the
Cabinet) to promote emergency steps in a speedy manner so that the economy can
return to a recovery track as soon as possible.''
Masamitsu Sakurai, chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives,
also expressed his expectation for the early implementation of a stimulus
package adopted in late August by the Cabinet of then Prime Minister Yasuo
Fukuda, which resigned en masse earlier in the day.
Tadashi Okamura, chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said,
''We expect (the new Cabinet) to carry out drastic policies toward structural
reform so that the economy can be driven by domestic demand.''
Both Mitarai and Okamura said they had the impression that the new Cabinet is
solid with many heavyweights well-versed in policies.
Other business executives also called on the new administration to make efforts
to address a series of problems such as the global financial crisis, and
soaring energy and material costs.
Kazuo Furukawa, president of Hitachi Ltd., said Aso and his Cabinet members are
tasked with tackling with falling global stock prices following the recent
failure of major U.S. financial institutions and ensuring food safety amid
growing public concern in the wake of a number of food scandals.
Shoji Muneoka, chairman of the Japan Iron and Steel Federation, said
steelmakers want the government to implement policies to secure natural
resources amid unprecedented hikes in raw material costs.