TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan will consider what more it can do to prevent the economy from sliding deeper into recession, the top government spokesman said on Wednesday, signaling readiness to deploy another spending package to cushion the blow from the pandemic.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga also said it was “very important” for the Bank of Japan to work closely with the government preemptively, when asked whether any fresh spending measures should be accompanied by additional monetary easing.

“We need to consider what we can do to prevent the economy from falling off a cliff,” Suga told Reuters in an interview.

Suga dismissed speculation that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may step down due to health reasons, saying Abe’s comments on Monday that he will continue to do his best in his job “explains it all”.

“I meet the prime minister twice a day, but I don’t see any change in his health,” Suga said.

Suga also said he had no intention of pursuing a job as prime minister, even when urged to do so by his associates.

“I never thought about it,” he said, when asked whether he ever considered becoming prime minister.

(Reporting by Takashi Umekawa, Leika Kihara and Takaya Yamaguchi; Editing by David Dolan)

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