TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Tuesday the Sino-U.S. trade war would not immediately trigger an economic shock on the scale of the “Lehman shock”, though the friction between the world’s two largest economies is unlikely to be resolved easily.

Aso said the Japanese government will lay the groundwork for a planned sales tax hike to be implemented barring a big economic shock like the collapse of Lehman Brothers about a decade ago.

Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting, Aso also said there’s no need to consider additional stimulus measures at the moment to ease the pain of the tax hike planned for October.