Jun Azumi has joined the chorus of those promising the imminent prospect of a rise in Japan's consumption tax. As finance minister, one would think — hope, perhaps pray — that Azumi should know what he is talking about.
He told Keidanren chairman Hiromasa Yonekura that the government will submit legislation to raise the consumption tax rate "next year along with bills reforming the tax and social security systems."
That's a lot of important legislation lumped into a single sentence. Infuriatingly, Azumi did not offer any inkling of his thoughts on when the tax rise should happen or at what rate. Nor, even more infuriatingly, did he announce the start of a national debate on these very large issues of the parlous state of Japan's government finances.