Bank of Japan’s Kuroda puts pressure on PM to increase sales tax
Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda has continued to put pressure on prime minister Shinzo Abe to increase consumption tax, pledging to support the economy with monetary tools.
Kuroda said that the Bank of Japan can step in if the tax were to hit growth. Japan is one of the world's most indebted nations, and some there have pushed for tax hikes in order to achieve some fiscal consolidation.
The governor said that there is not much that fiscal or monetary authorities can do if the market loses its trust in the Japanese finances, and that the sale tax is unlikely to break the Japanese economy.