THE latest tranche of Japan's growth strategy will aim to triple infrastructure exports and double farm exports by 2020, as well as boost private investment, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said yesterday.

The government will set a target for domestic private-sector investment of 70 trillion yen (US$687 billion) annually, Abe said in a speech to business executives and academics, the level before the 2008 financial crisis and up about 10 percent from the current figure.

Measures to promote growth constitute what Abe calls the "third arrow" in his policy quiver as Japan battles to end 15 years of deflation and generate sustainable economic growth. The first two arrows of "Abenomics" are massive monetary easing and a burst of government spending.

Abe has promised that structural reform, including deregulation, will be a key part of the package of steps, to be fully unveiled in June. But it also includes a significant role for government in generating investment and innovation in key sectors, a stance some critics see as outdated and ill-advised.

The monetary and fiscal stimulus has already sparked Japan's fastest economic growth in a year in the first quarter, but corporate investment has yet to follow suit.

Promising to be a "top salesman" for Japanese infrastructure exports, Abe vowed to promote private-sector investment at home and asked corporate Japan to do its bit to pass on the benefits of "Abenomics."

Abe, who took office in December after a big LDP election win, has said he wants to unveil the growth strategy before a June 17-18 Group of Eight summit in Northern Ireland. That would also come ahead of a July upper house election.