Japan unveils ambitious economic growth strategy

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said his three-month-old government aimed to create 4.76 million jobs by 2020. He set a target of annual economic growth of more than two percent, adjusted for price changes, over the next decade.

"I'm determined to accomplish this," he told a news conference.

But the government was vague about exactly how he would achieve the lofty goals, saying it would come up with more concrete measures by around June.

It aims to create new demand worth more than 100 trillion yen (1.1 trillion dollars), seeking to resuscitate the world's second largest economy after its worst recession in decades.

The government has forecast a 2.6 percent contraction in real gross domestic product in the current fiscal year to March 2010.

While in the past, "people served the economy," now the economy needs to benefit the people, Hatoyama said.

"In other words, we have to create demand," he said.