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Japan’s New Leader Pledges to Boost Wages Without Raising Sales Tax

  • New premier wants more tax breaks for firms that raise wages
  • He also pledges pay hikes for nurses and other public workers
Fumio Kishida
Fumio KishidaPhotographer: Du Xiaoyi/Xinhua/Bloomberg

Japan’s new prime minister, Fumio Kishida, wants to succeed where Abenomics fell short, by boosting worker wages and creating a new type of capitalism that distributes wealth more widely. 

Speaking on TV Tokyo late Monday, Kishida said he’ll raise pay for public workers and strengthen an income tax break for companies that boost wages, although he put off an idea floated earlier to raise capital gains taxes.