Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday he will consider postponing the consumption tax hike currently planned for next April to reduce the risk of what he calls a looming financial crisis due to deteriorating conditions of certain emerging economies, including China.

Abe, speaking during the concluding news conference for the Group of Seven summit at Kashikojima in the city of Shima, Mie Prefecture, hastened to add that he has not made a decision yet.

But domestic media outlets are reporting that Abe now intends to formally announce the postponement as early as Wednesday, ahead of the Upper House election scheduled for July.