Noda Risks Party Rupture in Push to Pass Japan’s Sales Tax Bill

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s attempt to craft a deal to raise the consumption tax risks rupturing his party three years after it ended half a century of one-party rule.

Noda has staked his political career on passing a law that would double the tax to 10 percent by 2015. The resurgence of ruling Democratic Party of Japan powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa, an opponent of the bill, threatens to thwart Noda’s efforts to reach a compromise with the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party that lawmakers from both sides say is possible.