Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Saturday his government remains committed to the plan to raise the consumption tax from the current 8% to 10% in October 2019 as part of efforts to restore Japan’s fiscal health. Abe made the remark on a television program after reshuffling…
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Saturday his government remains committed to the plan to raise the consumption tax from the current 8% to 10% in October 2019 as part of efforts to restore Japan’s fiscal health.
Abe made the remark on a television program after reshuffling his Cabinet and key posts in the Liberal Democratic Party this week in an effort to restore his plunging approval ratings. He highlighted an economic revival and fiscal rehabilitation as his government’s main mission.
Under the initial plan, the consumption tax was going to be raised to 10 percent in October 2015 but Abe has already postponed the plan twice to try to ensure a solid economic recovery.
Japan’s economy is on a moderate recovery track for now, expanding for a fifth straight quarter in the first quarter of 2017, the longest stretch since six quarters of continued growth between January 2005 and June 2006.
He also cited during the program achieving a primary balance surplus by fiscal 2020 and reducing the public debt ratio to nominal gross domestic product as two major goals.
« I would like to steer the economy toward those two goals, » Abe said, indicating he will urge the business community to use retained earnings for raising wages so that it will stimulate consumption and lead to a positive cycle of the economy.
