Japan Investors Cheer ‘Good Listener’ Kishida’s Tax-Policy Reversal
- Japan’s PM says not mulling capital-gains tax changes for now
- Nikkei earlier fell eight days in a row amid worries over plan
Fumio Kishida speaks at the lower house of parliament in Tokyo on Oct. 11.
Photographer: Philip Fong/AFP/Getty Images
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Asked to describe himself in the race to become Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida often gave one answer: that he was a “good listener.” His quick retreat on plans to raise the country’s capital gains tax shows that he is certainly listening to stock traders.
Japanese equity markets Monday cheered Kishida’s comments over the weekend that he wasn’t thinking of reviewing the nation’s capital gains taxes for now. His remarks, which along with a weakening yen helped drive the Nikkei 225 Stock Average up 1.6%, followed a plunge in equities since he won the vote to replace Yoshihide Suga.