Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
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CLOUDS AND SUN
The Abe administration should heed public opinion and set a clear timeline for ending Japan's reliance on nuclear power.
Only by fixing the flaws in its corporate culture that caused the skin-blotch scandal can Kanebo hope to regain the public's trust.
The government should increase taxes on wealthy families rather than exclude their children from the high school tuition exemption and support system.
The government's fight against deflation will not be successful if prices rise but wages remain stagnant.
North Korea cannot be allowed to blackmail the world into once again buying its nuclear weapon-making potential.
The central and local governments must be ready to help both evacuees who want to return home and those who want to settle in new places.
Japanese and Chinese leaders must work to prevent the Senkaku issue from harming broader, mutually important interests.
The prosecution's decision to not indict any Tepco officials in connection with the Fukushima nuclear disaster is an affront to the hundreds of thousands of victims.
After the U.S., Australia is Japan's closest security partner. It is hoped that Japan and Australia under Tony Abbott and his new government will deepen their relationship.
Now that Tokyo has won the right to host the 2020 Summer Olympics, the government must deliver on its promise to end the radiation leaks in Fukushima.
The central and local governments should begin concrete efforts to build an effective network so the transition from caring for the elderly in special nursing care facilities to caring for them in their own homes will go smoothly.
A bill to protect government secrets could undermine the fundamental democratic principles of freedom of information and freedom of the press.