Japan Press Weekly

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2008 July 16 - 22 [FINANCE]

Results of public opinion survey show anti-consumption tax rate hike in majority

Several opinion surveys show that a majority of the Japanese say they are opposed to the government plan to increase the consumption tax rate.

This is a noteworthy change, since the public was divided almost equally in a survey two years ago.

Mainichi Newspapers conducted a nationwide survey on July 12-13 concerning “arguments for raising the consumption tax rate chiefly with the aim of securing social welfare funds,” and 61 percent of respondents said ‘No,’ while about 30 percent said ‘Yes.’

In Mainichi’s similar survey in January 2005, 44 percent of the respondents said that they understood the need for a raise, and 46 percent said they “cannot understand” the need for the tax hikes.

In answer to similar questions in a Kyodo News survey on July 11-12, 61.8 percent of the respondents said ‘No’ and 33.8 percent ‘Yes’ to the tax raise. Considering that the survey represents increasing opposition to the consumption tax increase, the news agency concluded that households have been seriously pressed by the soaring prices of gasoline and food.

The findings of similar nationwide surveys by major newspapers Asahi and Yomiuri on July 15 also showed that an increasing number of people are opposed to the tax hike plan than those who supported this.

The government and ruling parties have been emphasizing that funds for pension and medical services cannot be secured without a consumption tax increase. A recent series of public opinion surveys that directly took up the government argument showed that the majority of respondents answered “No” to this by a large margin. This suggests that the government’s explanation is no longer convincing. - Akahata, July 17, 2008