Business leaders urged the government Wednesday to open up the nation's market by joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact by June so industries can benefit from the strong consumption power in the United States and emerging economies.
They said Prime Minister Naoto Kan should decide on raising the consumption tax, now at 5 percent, to help solve the fiscal debt crisis and pay for social welfare amid the rapidly aging population.
"This year should be the start of the open market," Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), told a news conference after a New Year's party hosted by Keidanren and two other business lobbies.