Former Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa on Saturday criticized Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Cabinet for approving a bill to raise the consumption tax.
"I doubt the time is right to implement such a big tax hike. We have things to do before asking the public to shoulder the burden," Ozawa told a meeting in the city of Miyazaki.
The bill, approved by the Cabinet and submitted to the Diet on Friday, would increase the 5 percent consumption tax in two stages, to 8 percent in April 2014 and to 10 percent in October 2015, to cover swelling social security costs.