The Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) recommended Tuesday that the government gradually raise the consumption tax from the current 5 percent to at least 10 percent starting in fiscal 2011 to meet rising medical care and pension costs.
Japan's most powerful business lobby said the tax should eventually top 15 percent or more by the mid-2020s to a level comparable with European countries.
Also on Tuesday, national strategic minister Yoshito Sengoku said the Democratic Party of Japan should include a consumption tax rise in its campaign promises for the next Lower House election, saying the government "will face great difficulty" in managing the national financial picture given the rapidly falling tax revenues amid the current economic slump.