Nikkei Review: Japan plans to go ahead with tax hikes - Reuters

As reported by Reuters, the Nikkei Review news service quoted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe regarding the government's plans to start pushing taxes higher despite potential risks.

Key quotes

"Abe said his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won last year’s lower house election with a pledge to use proceeds from the sales tax increase to make Japan’s social welfare system more sustainable. “We must accomplish this by all means,” Abe said in an interview with the economic daily, referring to his plan to raise the tax to 10 percent from 8 percent in October next year.

Abe twice postponed the tax hike after an increase to 8 percent from 5 percent in 2014 tipped Japan into recession. Some analysts warn next year’s scheduled tax hike could hurt already fragile private consumption, at a time that a construction boom leading up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games may peter out.

Commenting on whether the government could declare an end to deflation even before inflation hits the Bank of Japan’s 2 percent target, Abe said the key to the decision would be job growth. “Japan may not have achieved the (BOJ’s) inflation target, but what we are really focused on is employment,” he said.

Japan’s economy is on track to mark its longest postwar expansionary period thanks to robust exports and capital expenditure. The jobless rate has also slid to record-low levels that analysts say are near full employment."