Fiscal hawks at Japan MOF in a rift with Cabinet Office

Tokyo

ADVISERS to Japan's Finance Ministry have accused the Cabinet Office of making overly rosy assumptions about growth and spending, a draft document showed on Tuesday, highlighting sharp internal divisions over how to tame the country's massive debt.

The document, reviewed by Reuters, offers a rare glimpse of in-fighting within Shinzo Abe's government, and reflects fears within the hawkish Finance Ministry that some policymakers close to the prime minister want to backslide on fiscal spending cuts.