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Opinion
Daniel Moss

Where You Eat Your Bento Box Now Matters for Japan

An increase in the consumption levy is the last thing the economy needs.

Why mess with a pillar of support for the economy?

Why mess with a pillar of support for the economy?

Photographer: Noriko Hayashi/Bloomberg
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Japan's consumption-tax hike doesn't look like it’s going to sink the economy, as a similar increase did five years ago. That's the good news.

The bad news is that the bump, to 10% from 8%, is still happening at an inauspicious time. While a recession isn't in the cards for Japan, the last thing any major economy needs is a fiscal brake.