Faced with a Lower House election that must come by September, the struggling Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc said Friday the timing of a consumption tax hike will not be specified in its guideline for fiscal 2009 tax reforms.
The ruling coalition would only say the government will raise the 5 percent sales tax after the economy improves.
"After the economic situation improves, we will swiftly implement tax reforms that will include the consumption tax," the guideline said. "We will establish a sustainable fiscal structure by the middle of the 2010s."