date:Oct 15, 2018
the fragile economy.
The last such move - in April 2014 - was blamed for tipping Japan into a brief recession.
This time, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe believes he can avoid a sharp decline in consumer spending by introducing measures to cushion the blow.
The government will do its best to avoid a negative impact on the economy by taking every possible measure, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters.
However, Suga added that the planned hike could still be scrapped if there were a