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The remark by Fumio Kishida, who oversees the Liberal Democratic
Party's policy-setting, comes amid lingering calls from
politicians to postpone for a third time the unpopular sales tax
increase to 10 percent from 8 percent.
"It's an imminent task" for Japan to make its social welfare
system more sustainable and improve its fiscal health, Kishida
told reporters.
"Japan must ensure it proceeds steadily" with the scheduled
sales tax hike so it can meet the government's goal of balancing
the budget in the fiscal year ending in March 2021, he said.
Kishida, a former foreign minister who took the LDP post in a
cabinet reshuffle in August, is considered as among leading
candidates to eventually succeed premier Shinzo Abe.
Asked whether he would run in next year's LDP election to select
the party leader, Kishida declined to comment. As the ruling
coalition holds a comfortable majority in parliament, the LDP's
chief is assured of becoming prime minister.
Japan's government has twice delayed a plan to raise the sales
tax to 10 percent from 8 percent, after an earlier hike from 5
percent hurt consumption and growth.
Abe has said he will proceed with the tax hike in October 2019,
though some analysts say he may scrap the plan to prioritize
growth over fiscal discipline.
Government sources have told Reuters Abe is looking to quietly
ditch a pledge to balance the budget by fiscal 2020 in favor of
a looser debt-to-GDP ratio target, a move that gives him a free
hand to delay the tax hike.
Tax hikes and spending cuts are considered crucial to curb
Japan's huge public debt which, at twice the size of its
economy, is the biggest among advanced economies.
(Reporting by Takashi Umekawa; Writing by Leika Kihara; Editing
by Richard Borsuk)
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