Tokyo, Aug. 28 (BridgeNews) - Speaking after unemployment was announced at a historical high of 5.0%, Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Japanese firms should take "the societal environment" into account when planning restructuring. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has repeatedly said his administration will pursue a program to encourage drastic private sector structural reforms that will necessarily incur bankruptcies and unemployment in the short-term. However, Shiokawa seems to be backtracking on this policy objective in his comments.