In historic step Japan PM to hike tax

TOKYO: Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will take a step on Tuesday that none of his predecessors has tried in more than 15 years - making a dent in the government's runaway debt.

Abe, riding a wave of popularity with economic policies that have begun to stir the world's third-biggest economy out of years of lethargy, will announce that the government will raise the national sales tax to 8 percent in April from 5 percent, a final draft of the government economic plan, seen by Reuters, shows.