September 6, 2019

Seeking to push the Abe government to give up on implementing the consumption tax hike to 10% on October 1, the Japanese Communist Party launched a “nationwide anti-consumption tax hike week” early this month.

As part of the ongoing one-week campaign, the JCP Hokkaido Prefectural Committee on September 5 took to the streets near JR Sapporo Station to collect signatures against the 10% tax rate and raise awareness among the general public that it is still possible to block the consumption tax hike. JCP members of the House of Councilors Kami Tomoko and Iwabuchi Tomo used a microphone to call on the passersby to sign the anti-tax hike petition.

Delivering a speech, Kami reported that on the previous day, she visited three towns which were heavily hit by a massive earthquake last year and met quake victims living in temporary housing units. She said that the planned consumption tax hike will make it harder for these quake victims to reconstruct their lives, and expressed her determination to work for the cancellation of the planned tax hike.

Two days earlier in Kofu City in Yamanashi Prefecture, a JCP local organization collected signatures opposing the scheduled tax increase to 10%.

Asking passersby for their cooperation in the anti-tax hike signature campaign, JCP prefectural assemblyperson Kogoshi Tomoko said, “People are struggling to make ends meet and the global economy is facing a recession. Under this situation, it is outrageous for the government to increase the consumption tax rate. Let us work together to block this move.” A man in his 20s signed his name and said, “My wages aren’t going up and I strongly oppose the planned tax hike.”

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The JCP and its opposition counterparts on September 5 jointly conducted a hearing regarding issues related to the consumption tax hike to 10% with relevant ministry officials.

Opposition lawmakers pointed out that in addition to the Economy Ministry’s data which shows that commercial sales declined for the past eight months from December 2018, other government statistics indicate the worsening of Japan’s economy and show the world economy is facing further risks of recession with the ongoing U.S.-China trade war. They said that a consumption tax hike under this situation is reckless.

Furthermore, regarding government measures to minimize the negative economic impact from a higher tax rate, including multiple tax rates and cashless payment systems, the lawmakers said smaller business owners expressed concerns that they might be driven into bankruptcy because each of these measures cost too much for them to adopt.

Officials of the Economy and Finance ministries which are responsible for measures related to the sales tax hike failed to provide satisfactory answers.