Opinion was divided at the first meeting of invited experts on whether the Abe administration should raise consumption tax rate as planned.
The tax is set to rise to 10 percent late next year. The final decision is expected by the end of December, but recent data have shown economic recovery is weaker than expected.
Five of the eight experts who gathered Tuesday said that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should go ahead with the tax hike to help restore the nation's fiscal health — the worst among major developed economies. Some of them emphasized the need for additional stimulus.