Japan minister says 2% inflation target may be pushed back

Tokyo

JAPAN'S target of achieving 2 per cent inflation by next September may be delayed as China's economic slowdown affects the price of oil and other natural resources, according to Yasutoshi Nishimura, the nation's deputy economy minister.

China faces the challenge of changing the structure of its economy in the middle to long term, said Mr Nishimura, who is helping spearhead the Japanese government's reform plans as the right-hand man to Economy Minister Akira Amari, a key architect of Abenomics. Japan hopes China will deal with the issues in its economy in the "correct manner" and overcome them, he said.