Advice on Japan sales tax hike

TOKYO: Japan’s government should stick with its plan to raise the sales tax again to 10% next year as the economy has shown it is resilient enough to withstand the burden, according to a prominent member of the top government advisory panel.

Policymakers did not have to worry about a spike in bond yields stemming from Japan’s massive debt burden right now, but it was still important to maintain trust in public finances, Motoshige Itoh, a member of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, said at a Japan summit.