After IMF head Christine Lagarde urged European leaders to modify their demands for increased austerity in distressed European economies, Germany's Finance Minister rebuked her, suggesting a divide among high-level European officials about how to handle the debt crisis, according to the Financial Times.

At a Tokyo meeting of finance ministers and central bankers, Lagarde had cited a new study suggesting the EU and the IMF had underestimated the effect of austerity measures on economic growth. Germany's Wolfgang Schaeuble said Lagarde's remarks seemed to contradict previous IMF calls to deal with high debt levels.

Lagarde has also called for giving Greece more more years to meet the fiscal targets it agreed to in exchange for a bailout.