Japan Press Weekly

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2009 March 11 - 17 [POLITICS]

Nationwide actions held against tax increase

Three days before the March 16 tax return deadline, about 170,000 small- and medium-sized producers, farmers, and consumers voiced their opposition to tax increases in the 40th annual action on March 13 at 580 locations throughout Japan.

In Tokyo’s Sumida Ward, about 100 people marched in demonstration to the tax office and filed their income tax returns. They called on the government to take measures to increase job opportunities as well as to expand domestic demand to help stimulate an economic recovery.

A 72-year-old man running a deli for 35 years said that it has become harder to keep his business afloat due to rises in food prices and falls in sales amid the economic recession. “Most of our customers are elderly people and housewives. We cannot ask them to cover the increased costs. A consumption tax increase should never be allowed to be carried out,” he said.