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Opposition to the cross-party agreement on two tax and social security reform bills intensified within the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) on Sunday as Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda left to attend the Group of 20 (G20) nations in Los Cabos, Mexico.
Before leaving Japan, Noda said he hopes opposition to the bills within the party will end and that the two bills can be presented to the lower house for a vote before the current Diet session ends on Friday, NTV reported.
However, DPJ heavyweights Ichiro Ozawa and former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said the vote in the Diet must be postponed so the party can discuss it further. Both strongly oppose the bill to hike the consumption tax to 10% and have accused the government of ditching the party's 2009 election-winning manifesto.
Noda told reporters he was confident that their differences could be resolved and said that DPJ Secretary-General Azuma Koshiishi will hold a meeting with senior party executives on Monday afternoon, NTV reported.
But Noda hinted that he may have to discuss a possible extension of the current Diet session if no progress is made in the talks. Media speculated Sunday that the Diet session would most likely be extended until August to give the upper house time to deliberate on the bill.
LDP Secretary-General Nobuteru Ishihara said the opposition parties want a vote by Friday and added that Noda should sever ties with rebels in his party. The LDP is also calling for the prime minister to dissolve the lower house and call a general election.
Noda will return from Mexico late Wednesday.
© Japan Today
8 Comments
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arsseb
Just get rid of Ozawa already !!
ubikwit
with the noise coming from the IMF, not to mentioned the credit agencies and predatory currency speculating houses of finance waiting to pounce, it seems that noda will be able to push through the tax, but what are the details of the agreement?
how will this affect the ability to enact reforms, what happened to the plan to consolidate some kindergartens and nursery schools, etc?
nath
Idiots need a vat! Not an across the board tax which is regressive.
nath
Mexico? Heads? Noda? Man!! I was afraid some Mafia had chopped his head right off!! But yes Japan spends $$$$$$ on BS night and day so time to reduce corruption and waste!!
J-Boh
@JapanGal there's not a great deal of difference between a VAT and the Consumption Tax - both are regressive. But it may be the only way Japan can start to tackle its government debt. Currently Japan's tax take is one of the lowest in the OECD as a % of GDP: http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?QueryId=21699
nath
J-boh: Tax things that are frills. No tax on food, baby things, school things, soap etc. Tax TV's, Cars, Motorcycles. Do not tax bikes, sneakers etc. That is what I was trying to express.
nath
And Japan will not default on its debt. The Japanese own most of it unlike other countries.