Japan to postpone tax hike for funding higher defense spending

TOKYO, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Japan plans to postpone a tax rise intended to fund a planned increase in the nation's defense spending, local media reported Sunday.

After Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called for raising defense spending to 2 percent of the country's gross domestic product in fiscal 2027 from the current 1 percent, the government will further deliberate on measures to secure a stable source of revenue, according to Kyodo News.

The government will set the general direction of the plan but is likely to forego deciding on a specific tax increase when it compiles the initial budget for fiscal 2023 in late December, reported the media citing a government source.

It plans to prioritize decreasing non-defense spending given that some lawmakers from the Liberal Democratic Party are opposed to raising taxes that would directly affect consumers and businesses, the source said.