G-20 finance meeting to focus on macroeconomic conditions+

TOKYO, Aug. 27 Kyodo -
Financial chiefs from major countries meeting next week in London will mainly
take up issues related to the current macroeconomic conditions, financial
regulations and international financial institutions, a senior government
official said Thursday.

Yasutake Tango, the top bureaucrat at the Finance Ministry, said these will
likely be high on the agenda at the two-day meeting of finance ministers and
central bankers from the Group of 20 major economies that begins Sept. 4.
''Our country is hoping the meeting will be fruitful in responding to the
economic crisis and the global economic slowdown,'' the vice finance minister
said at a news conference. ''We are planning on active discussions.''
It is uncertain whether Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano will attend the
meeting designed to lay the groundwork for the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh on
Sept. 24-25, as there will be a general election this Sunday in Japan.
Yosano, a heavyweight of the Liberal Democratic Party, has been facing an
uphill battle for reelection in his Tokyo constituency.
Media polls show the Democratic Party of Japan is likely to clinch a landslide
victory over the long-ruling LDP in the House of Representatives election.
However, Yosano earlier this week indicated he still plans to take part in the
London meeting, regardless of the election outcome, to fulfill his duties as a
minister.
Even if the DPJ wins the election as widely expected, a new Cabinet is unlikely
to be formed by the time of the ministerial meeting and Yosano will keep the
current post for a short time.
==Kyodo