Prime Minister Taro Aso got a little breathing room Friday after the Cabinet approved his modified tax reform bill, which now offers an open-ended clause for a future consumption tax hike, while mending an internal rift over the issue in his Liberal Democratic Party.
After being slammed repeatedly for his policy flip-flopping, Aso this time stood his ground as best he could and said he wanted the 5 percent consumption tax raised in fiscal 2011 if the economy had recovered.
In the end, the final wording had to be modified to state that the government would merely make legal preparations for tax reforms, including a consumption tax hike, by fiscal 2011. Aso's proposal to set a specific date for the tax hike was thus obliterated.