Japan PM Kishida Faces Calls for Election Over Defense Tax Hike
- Polls show majority want election before tax rise for defense
- Some 80% percent don’t expect a pay rise above inflation
Fumio Kishida
Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Japanese voters want an election before any hike in taxes to fund Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s plans for a record increase in defense spending and providing more support for families with children, according to two polls.
About 63% of respondents to a poll by the Nikkei newspaper carried out Jan 27-29 and 77% of those who took part in a survey by Kyodo News Jan 28-29 said Kishida should go to the people ahead of any increase in the tax burden.