Japan's Abe considering 2-year delay in sales tax hike

[TOKYO] Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering delaying a sales tax hike, originally planned in April 2017, by around two years, the daily Yomiuri newspaper reported on Friday.

Mr Abe will shortly convey his idea to Finance Minister Taro Aso and the head of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party's coalition partner, the paper said without citing sources.

The decision would come in the wake of a Group of Seven (G7) summit Mr Abe is hosting in western Japan, where he told the leaders the global economy may be on the verge of a financial crisis of the scale of Lehman Brothers.

REUTERS