Abe indicates tax hike may be postponed again

September 27, 2017

TOKYO- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday indicated that a consumption tax increase set for October 2019 will be postponed if the economy worsens significantly.

Abe has postponed the tax increase from 8 percent to 10 percent twice.

Speaking on television, Abe said he does not mean that the tax will be raised regardless of economic conditions.

"If a crisis similar in scale to the Lehman shock happens, some sort of decision will have to be made," Abe said, referring to the global financial crisis of 2008.

At a press conference on Monday, Abe said he will ask for voters' verdict on his plan to divert part of the additional revenue from the tax increase for education.

The plan will reduce the amount of funds to be set aside to repay state debts and force the government to push back its goal of achieving a primary budget surplus in fiscal 2020.

Finance Minister Taro Aso told a news conference on Tuesday that the new target year should be fiscal 2022 or 2023. But Abe said it is too early to provide a specific timing.

Referring to popular Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike's opposition to the tax increase, Abe said the sustainability of Japan's social security system will be threatened without the measure. Jiji Press