BOJ Kuroda: Important for Japan to aim for budget surplus goal - Hokkaido Shimbun

TOKYO (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said it was important that the government keep its pledge to achieve a primary budget surplus by fiscal 2020, according to the Hokkaido Shimbun.

"The government has said it will turn its budget deficit into a surplus by fiscal 2020 and this point is important," Kuroda told the Hokkaido Shimbun in an interview.

"I think the government will work towards the goal firmly," he said.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to announce on Wednesday that the government will delay a scheduled sales tax hike by 2-1/2 years. But it is fanning doubts about Abe's plans to curb Japan's huge public debt and fund ballooning the social welfare costs of a fast-ageing population.

(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Chris Gallagher)