Japan PM: Will pursue bold monetary policy, big fiscal spending

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reiterated on Monday his call for bold monetary easing by the central bank, big fiscal spending and an economic growth strategy as steps towards conquering deflation.

"Above all, the urgent task is to beat deflation," Abe told a meeting of officials from the government and ruling parties.

"A bold monetary policy, a flexible fiscal policy and a growth strategy are aimed at stimulating private investment. With these three pillars, we must aim to beat deflation."

Abe also said the government would do its utmost to quickly enact an extra budget for the current fiscal year and a budget for the next fiscal year to shore up the economy.

(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Writing by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Chris Gallagher)