Government discussions over a looming tax hike hit full throttle Tuesday as the Democratic Party of Japan's tax panel kicked off its first meeting to discuss how to gather financial resources to reconstruct the Tohoku region.
The panel, led by former Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii, will operate in parallel with the governmental Tax Commission, which held its first gathering under Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda last week.
The two committees are aiming to agree on a draft by the end of the month before entering negotiations with opposition parties. The DPJ panel "will operate independently (from the government) as decided by the prime minister and the party," Fujii said during the meeting Tuesday. "We will aim to lead the government" in mapping out measures to pay for Tohoku's reconstruction, he added.