Japan PM sticks to script on sales tax plans after deadly quakes

Tokyo

TOKYO is sticking with plans to raise the sales tax next year, barring a financial crisis or a major natural disaster, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday, without saying whether two deadly quakes in southern Japan qualified as such a disaster.

The tremors on the southern island of Kyushu on Thursday and Saturday have caused at least 42 deaths and disrupted production at major manufacturers including Toyota Motor Corp and Sony Corp.