Japan must act on its deteriorating financial health by launching discussions on fiscal reform and revealing the results to the public, said Takashi Imai, chairman of the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren).
Along with streamlining public works and administrative expenditures, Japan must find ways to increase revenue in order to cope with the inevitable increase in social security expenditures, Imai said.
"There is the question of whether to increase revenues through tax (hikes) or by raising premiums for social security programs. Either way, the people must bear a burden . . . We must set a (fiscal reform) direction soon. It is important to lay out the future direction in a proper way," said Imai, 70, who also serves as chairman of Nippon Steel Corp. Imai said a future hike in the consumption tax is inevitable to prevent the burden from falling exclusively on the working population.