The Cabinet will stick to its plan and approve a bill Friday to double the consumption tax to 10 percent despite fierce opposition from within the Democratic Party of Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said Tuesday.
The DPJ has been holding marathon internal meetings over the tax hike for nearly two weeks, but opponents are still dissatisfied with the bill and have not backed down.
Nevertheless, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his administration have firm plans to submit the bill to the Diet by Saturday, the end of the current fiscal year. "The final Cabinet meeting of this fiscal year" is Friday, Fujimura told reporters. The government's aim "is (to approve the bill) by the end of the week, and I think it will ultimately be around that time."