Opposition rejects calls for nonpartisan talks on sales tax hike+

TOKYO, June 22 Kyodo -
Opposition parties on Tuesday rejected calls by Democratic Party of Japan
President and Prime Minister Naoto Kan for holding nonpartisan talks on a
proposed consumption tax hike, blasting him for rushing to make it a central
issue in the July 11 House of Councillors election.
In his remarks at a nationally televised debating session involving the heads
of nine parties, Kan said it is necessary to consider the politically unpopular
move, noting the need to avert the kind of sovereign debt crisis suffered by
Greece and help pay for the nation's runaway social security costs.
But the heads of six opposition parties, including the main opposition Liberal
Democratic Party, suggested that they are unwilling to take part for the time
being in the nonpartisan consultations Kan has proposed holding to consider a
sales tax hike.
''Although we are prepared to accept (the proposal for nonpartisan talks), the
DPJ manifesto must first be addressed,'' LDP President Sadakazu Tanigaki said,
effectively setting significant changes in the party's election platform as the
condition for entering such talks.
Since succeeding Yukio Hatoyama as DPJ leader and prime minister earlier this
month, Kan has said the government would begin full-fledged discussions on the
sales tax hike issue after the election, using as a reference the LDP's
proposal to double the current 5-percent tax rate.
''If our debts increase more than they are now and we suffer a fiscal crisis
like Greece, people's lives would be destroyed to a great extent,'' Kan said,
adding that if nonpartisan talks do not materialize, the DPJ will compile a tax
hike proposal on its own.
Regarding the upper house election, Kan said he hopes to win 54 seats ''plus
alpha'' -- meaning more than the 54 DPJ seats up for grabs this year -- to
retain a majority in the chamber for the coalition bloc.
Having the lower house in DPJ control and the upper house in opposition control
-- the situation called a ''twist'' that would result if the coalition fails to
win the majority -- would make it difficult to run his government effectively,
Kan said.
But in the event the ruling bloc fails to secure a majority in the upper house,
Kan indicated that the DPJ would ask the opposition to cooperate with his
party.
''If a twist occurs, it's imperative that we have talks with various people in
various ways,'' he said.
But none of the opposition parties present at the debate, including the Social
Democratic Party, which broke away from the ruling coalition last month due to
disagreements over the future of a U.S. military base in Okinawa, expressed
willingness to take part in the DPJ-led grouping to make up a majority in the
upper house.
Half of the 242 seats in the upper house will be contested in the upcoming
election. For the DPJ and its junior coalition partner, the People's New Party,
to retain a majority in the chamber, they need to win 56 seats, whereas
opposition parties together need to win 66 seats to prevent the ruling bloc
from retaining it.
At the debate, Kan reaffirmed the importance of the Japan-U.S. alliance for
Japan and the surrounding region, with a particular emphasis on China.
''I'm paying great attention to China's burgeoning military power and thinking
that we must watch out for it,'' he said.
Touting the notion of a ''balance of power,'' Kan said that as long as Japan
and the United States continue to work closely as security allies, the
three-way relationships between Japan, China and the United States will remain
stable.
But ''if such cooperation breaks down, instability is likely to arise in
various senses,'' he said.
During the debate, Natsuo Yamaguchi, who heads the smaller opposition New
Komeito party, called Kan's tax hike proposal ''out of the question'' and noted
that the DPJ had promised in last summer's general election not to raise the
consumption tax for four years -- the duration of the term for the current
House of Representatives members short of a snap election.
''It is necessary for us to discuss what social security should look like,
rather than proposing upfront an increase in the consumption tax rate to 10
percent,'' he said, noting the need to revamp the nation's social security
system using the revenues from the consumption tax.
Several other parties, including the People's New Party, opposed the tax hike
proposal on the grounds that the consumption tax affects the poor more than the
rich.
Kan noted that the DPJ only promised not to raise the tax until the next lower
house election, suggesting that a general election will likely provide the
public with an opportunity to render a judgment when a tax hike proposal is
readied.
On his resolve to push ahead with the issue, the prime minister said, ''Saying
that I will have the public make a judgment is equal to a politician saying
this with his political life staked on it.''
The roughly two-hour debate, which was held at the Japan National Press Club in
Tokyo, came ahead of the upper house election, with official campaigning set to
begin on Thursday.
The other party leaders participating in the event were Kazuo Shii of the
Japanese Communist Party, Shizuka Kamei of the People's New Party, Yoichi
Masuzoe of the New Renaissance Party, Mizuho Fukushima of the SDP, Takeo
Hiranuma of the Sunrise Party of Japan, and Yoshimi Watanabe of Your Party.
==Kyodo
2010-06-22 23:54:51