Tokyo's governor Koike mulling over taxing cash reserves of large firms

[TOKYO] Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike's Party of Hope will consider taxing the cash reserves of large companies, according to a campaign manifesto released on Friday.

Ms Koike has rapidly assembled an alternative conservative party to challenge Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the Oct 22 general election. While opinion polls indicate her party is unlikely to win the election, a substantial loss of seats could prompt the ruling coalition to oust Mr Abe as LDP leader.

The document said that corporate tax reserves exceeded 300 trillion yen (S$3.6 trillion) nationwide. It provided no further details.

Some of the other pledges contained in the Party of Hope's manifesto include: Freeze sales tax increase planned for 2019, phase out nuclear power by 2030, seek to expand renewables to 30 per cent of energy mix, and pursue debate on changing constitution, including pacifist Article 9.

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