Japan: Tax Matters

On Monday September 10 the leader of the party likely to win Japan’s next general election, LDP’s Sadakazu Tanigaki, threw in the towel in a surprise move. He had repeatedly expressed his intention to run in the election for party president and had a fair chance to be re-elected. He was also likely to secure a victory for his party in the upcoming election, and become prime minister. Tanigaki’s resignation makes others see the writing on the wall, not least Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. And the root cause of his fall was Noda’s decision to raise taxes.