Japan ready to deploy more fiscal support, says finance minister

FILE PHOTO: Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki prepares to ring a bell during the New Year ceremony marking the open of trading in 2022 at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Tokyo, Japan, January 4, 2022. REUTERS/Issei Kato

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's government stands ready to deploy more fiscal stimulus "without hesitation" as the country is still in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Friday.

"If inflation accelerates before full-fledged improvements in the job market and wage hikes kick in, that could affect consumption," Suzuki told a news conference.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chris Reese)

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