Japan to beat deflation by setting inflation rate at 1%

Finance Minister Naoto Kan today said the government wants to defeat deflation by aiming to keep prices rising year-on-year by around 1 percent.

To that end, Kan said during a session of the House of Representatives Budget Committee that the government wants to work closely with the Bank of Japan.

"As to the direction and the purpose of policy, it is preferable for the government and the BOJ to have a common goal," Kan said.

Kan said the government and the central bank have shared the view that the target should be around 1 percent.

But he also said that the BOJ's independence from the government should be respected, suggesting that how exactly to combat continued price falls has been put in the hands of the central bank.

Kan's latest remarks will likely heat up debate over whether the central bank should introduce a precise inflation target.

The BOJ has been reluctant to adopt inflation targeting.