If you wanted consumer inflation in Japan, you’re going to get it. Although not in the way most would like.
Economy Minister Akira Amari said 7 days of expert testimony showed the majority of experts in favor of a planned move to hike the consumption tax to 8% from 5% in April 2014. Among the 60 experts who testified last week, 46 supported the current tax timetable, while 10 proposed a change of the plan
The caveat, Amari said, is that the panel also recommended action to counteract the tax hike, including higher spending and other tax cuts. At this point, I think that course of action is a fairly safe bet.
