Gloom in Japan over proposed sales tax hike

TOKYO: Most Japanese companies will not increase hiring in 2014 and more than one in six will take additional cost-cutting steps as a planned sales tax hike next year worsens economic conditions, according to a Reuters poll that underscores scepticism about Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policies.

The results of the Reuters Corporate Survey offer a sobering mid-term report card on Abenomics as the focus shifts from early kudos for fiscal and monetary stimulus to worries about deregulation and efforts to tackle Japan's enormous public debt.