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IMF to raise outlook for Japan's economic growth rate for 2006+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TOKYO, Feb. 28_(Kyodo) _ (EDS: LEAD STORY TO FOLLOW) The International Monetary Fund is expected to raise its outlook for Japan's economic growth rate this year when it issues its next biannual report in April, senior International Monetary Fund officials said Tuesday, hailing Japan's broadening economic recovery. "I welcomed the recent strong and broad-based economic growth in Japan, and we agreed that the economy should continue to recover steadily," IMF First Deputy Managing Director Anne Krueger said after meeting in Tokyo with Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki and Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs Hiroshi Watanabe. David Burton, director for the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department said at a press briefing with Krueger that he believes the IMF will "significantly" upgrade its outlook for Japan's economy in 2006 from the 2 percent growth it projected in its World Economic Report released last September. Japan's 2006 growth rate is likely to be "quite a bit higher than the 2 percent," Burton said. |