Abe delays sales tax hike to October 2019

Tokyo

JAPANESE Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a widely anticipated and controversial decision on Wednesday to delay by two-and-a-half years to October 2019 a further hike in Japan's national consumption tax which had been due to take effect on April 1 next year.

"We have decided to postpone the consumption tax hike that could hurt domestic demand," Mr Abe told a press conference on Wednesday evening. With an upper house election looming next month, Mr Abe could now enjoy a boost in popularity by his decision to delay hiking the unpopular tax, analysts said.