Raising the consumption tax may be considered political suicide.
But whatever the outcome of Sunday's general election, the winning party will have to implement tax reforms quickly to keep the social welfare system up and running, said Robert Feldman, managing director and chief economist at Morgan Stanley Japan Ltd.
"Yesterday would be best," said Feldman, when asked when tax reforms should be implemented. "The baby boomers are retiring; there is no time to waste."
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.