Noda's tax success may fail to end Japan deadlock
News On Japan via Reuters -- Jun 29
After years of policy paralysis in Japan, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has pushed a much-needed but unpopular sales tax hike through the lower house of parliament, but the chances of further reform in the world's third-largest economy seem unlikely.
Noda, 55, is low key and likened himself to a "dojo" bottom-feeding fish when he took office in September last year. However, the sixth prime minister since 2006 is set to achieve a breakthrough that has eluded several of his predecessors.
The doubling of sales tax to 10 percent over three years, a first step towards curbing a public debt that is already twice national output and a record for an industrialised country, was passed by the lower house on Tuesday.
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May 19
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May 18
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May 17
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May 17
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May 17
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