Japan, currently the chair for the G8, will consider a proposal by French President Nicolas Sarkozy for a leaders' summit to overhaul the world's financial system in the wake of a crisis that has rocked markets, a government spokesman said, Reuters reported. Sarkozy made the proposal at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, saying that leaders of major nations should meet in November to work on regulating the "crazy" financial system. "The most important thing to do right now is to restore the markets' confidence in the financial system," said a spokesman for Taro Aso, who started work on Wednesday as Japan's new prime minister. "As far as President Sarkozy's proposal is concerned, we will consider it from this point of view and coordinate with the countries concerned." Sarkozy said the summit of heads and state and government should be based on the Group of Eight (G8) industrialised nations but also open to some emerging countries. Newly appointed Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa was cautious about France's proposal. "I would not rule out what Sarkozy is saying from the beginning, but we need to watch the situation carefully," he told reporters. "In any case, we need to tackle these issues in a speedy, flexible and effective manner."
