Japan says will aim for mid-term fiscal plan by Sept

MOSCOW - Japan will endeavour to fashion a credible medium-term fiscal plan by the time of a G20 leaders'summit in September, Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Saturday.

He also said that the still government aimed to introduce a higher sales tax rate next year as planned.

"We'll examine economic indicators due by October, including April-June (GDP) figures, and make a decision by October. But I want to aim for a sales tax hike from next April as planned,"Aso told reporters at the end of a G20 finance ministers and central bankers meeting in Moscow.

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, speaking alongside Aso, said it was far too early to wind up the extraordinary stimulus policies Tokyo launched earlier this year to kick start growth and end years of deflation.

"Japan has just adopted qualitative and quantitative easing on April 4 ... We are aiming to achieve a 2 percent price stability target in about two years. It's too early (for us) to discuss exit," Kuroda said.

Japan, which holds an upper house election on Sunday, has drawn criticism for giving little detail on structural reforms billed as the 'third arrow' of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic turnaround plan, G20 sources said.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Tokyo must complement its policies with a credible fiscal strategy.