The ruling Democratic Party of Japan and the No. 1 opposition Liberal Democratic Party have announced their manifestos for the July 11 Upper House election. Noteworthy is the DPJ's mention of the possibility of raising the consumption tax as a way to rebuild state finances.
After Mr. Ichiro Ozawa became DPJ head in 2006, the party avoided discussing the consumption tax. Even after Mr. Yukio Hatoyama became party chief, the DPJ's manifesto for the Aug. 30 Lower House election did not mention the issue.
Now the DPJ says it will start discussions with other parties on drastic reform of the tax system, which will include a possible raise of the consumption tax. This is a departure from the days of the Hatoyama administration, which used to say that it and the DPJ would not discuss the consumption tax issue during the current four-year term of the Lower House.