Senior officials from Japan's ruling and opposition parties broadly confirmed on Sunday that it is necessary to review the ¥1.03 million annual income threshold for income tax.

Speaking during a television program, Itsunori Onodera, policy chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said, "We need to consider making it easier for people to work if the income threshold serves as an impediment to work."

At the same time, however, Onodera noted that annual income tax revenue would drop by ¥7 trillion or ¥8 trillion if the income threshold separating income tax payers and nonpayers is raised to ¥1.78 million as proposed by the major opposition Democratic Party for the People.

"We need to talk about this first," he said, stressing the importance of considering how to make up for revenue shortfalls in both central and local governments if the threshold is raised.

Mitsunari Okamoto, policy head of Komeito, the ruling LDP's coalition partner, said that discussions on alternative revenue sources should be made also in view of the benefits of tax reductions that the proposed revision would create.

Kazuhiko Shigetoku, policy leader of the largest opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said: "We also feel a need to raise the threshold to a certain degree. We are ready to cooperate."

Officials from Nippon Ishin no Kai, Reiwa Shinsengumi and the Japanese Communist Party, all opposition parties, also pointed to a need to raise the income threshold.

"We won't make concessions at all," DPP policy chief Makoto Hamaguchi said of the party's proposal to raise the threshold to ¥1.78 million.

On measures to cover related tax revenue falls, however, Hamaguchi said only that "We want the ruling coalition to thoroughly consider alternative revenue sources."