Japan's government unveiled a growth strategy for the next 10 years on Wednesday, including creating new demand and jobs in areas such as the environment and health to boost the economy's growth rate. [ID:nTKU105783]

The government plans to finalise the strategy in June next year by nailing down details such as how to finance measures in the strategy and when to implement proposed policies.

Following are key points in the plan:

-- Aims for nominal GDP growth of more than 3 percent and real GDP growth of more than 2 percent on average over the 10 years to the fiscal year starting in April 2020.

-- Boost the size of Japan's GDP to 650 trillion yen ($7,062 billion) in fiscal 2020/21 against around 500 trillion yen now.

-- Aims to bring down Japan's jobless rate to a 3.0-3.9 percent range in the medium term -- which an official briefing reporters put at four years -- from over 5 percent now.

-- Create new demand worth more than 100 trillion yen by 2020 in the areas of the environment, health and tourism.

-- Growth strategies to focus on six key areas: 1) environment and energy, 2) health, 3) Asia, 4) tourism and revitalising regional areas, 5) science and technology, 6) employment.

-- Work with the Bank of Japan to overcome deflation.

ENVIRONMENT

-- Create 1.4 million new jobs in environment-related industries and expand the sector by over 50 trillion yen through new services and products by 2020 by carrying out steps such as expanding a feed-in tariff system to bolster renewable energy sources, promoting deregulation and boosting green innovation.

-- Aims to cut worldwide greenhouse gas emissions by 1.3 billion tonnes by 2020 by making use of Japan's private-sector technology.

HEALTH

-- Create 2.8 million new jobs in the medical, nursing-care, and health-related sectors by 2020 and expand the sectors by around 45 trillion yen through new services and products.

ASIA

-- Set a road map aiming to establish a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific in 2020.

-- Contribute to a goal of doubling Asia's incomes by 2020.

TOURISM AND REVITALISING REGIONAL AREAS

-- Boost foreign visitors to Japan to 25 million a year by early 2020 from around 8.35 million a year now through measures such as making it easier to obtain tourist visas.

-- Boost Japan's food self-sufficiency rate to 50 percent by 2020 through steps such as planned income support for farmers.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

-- Boost investment in research and development of the science and technology sector to more than 4 percent of GDP by fiscal 2020/21.

EMPLOYMENT

-- Help women return to work quickly after giving birth and be able to keep working through steps such as promoting deregulation in childcare services.

-- Boost the safety net and job training for the unemployed. ($1=92.04 Yen) (Reporting by Yoko Nishikawa; Editing by Michael Watson)

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