Abe likely to proceed with tax hike

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will likely proceed with raising the national sales tax hike as planned, despite calls within his government to delay or water down the increase, a senior official in Abe's ruling party told Reuters on Wednesday.

Abe has shown no signs that he would change the tax hike plans to accommodate advisers who are urging him to go slow, as that could wreck confidence in the country and push up long-term interest rates, Takeshi Noda, head of the Liberal Democratic Party's tax commission, told Reuters.