Suga: Consumption Tax Will Need To Be Raised
Japan's chief cabinet secretary, one of the candidates vying for leadership of the main ruling party, says the consumption tax rate will need to be raised as the country's population is shrinking.
Suga Yoshihide made the remark in a commercial TV program on Thursday. He is one of three candidates seeking to win the leadership election of the Liberal Democratic Party on Monday. The winner is almost certain to become the next prime minister, replacing Abe Shinzo, who is stepping down for health reasons.
Suga said he thought he should not suggest a tax hike. But he said that taking the country's future into account, the government will have no choice but to increase the levy after carrying out thorough administrative reform.
Suga said a decline in the population is unavoidable in Japan's aging society where the number of children is falling. He said this will be the case no matter what efforts are made to turn the trend around.
Japan's consumption tax currently stands at 10 percent.
