Strong enough for a sales tax hike?

The Cabinet Office on Aug. 12 announced that gross domestic product increased 0.6 percent, or an annualized 2.6 percent, in real terms for the April-June period from the previous quarter. The growth appears to be steadfast and some experts say the economic recovery is strong enough to enable the government to go ahead with a plan to raise the consumption tax rate from the current 5 percent to 8 percent in April 2014.

The government should carefully study related economic figures to decide whether the Japanese economy is strong enough to bear the brunt of the consumption tax hike. Another consumption tax increase — to 10 percent — is planned from October 2015.

GDP has now grown for three consecutive quarters. The Abe administration has the goal of attaining an average of 2 percent economic growth for 10 years. GDP growth has topped the 2 percent target for two consecutive quarters.