Japan will resume efforts to improve its fiscal health once the economy emerges from deflation and overcomes the hit from the coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday.

“Japan’s economy is battling a crisis, so the priority now is to use all available means to put it on a recovery path,” Abe told parliament.

“By achieving economic growth, Japan can restore fiscal health. But that doesn’t mean Japan can endlessly increase debt,” he said.