Japan’s PM hopes Ishiba sees ‘room’ for corporate tax hike, Reuters Kyodo reports

TOKYO (Reuters) – Shigeru Ishiba, Japan’s former defense minister and leading contender in the race for the leadership of the ruling party, said there was “room to raise” corporate taxes, Kyodo News quoted him as saying late on Saturday.

“There are still firms that can bear the tax burden. I would like them to bear a little more,” Ishiba said in an election-related webcast, Kyodo reported.

Shinjiro Koizumi, a former Japanese environment minister who is also considered a favorite in the Liberal Democratic Party leadership race, has expressed his intention to introduce the creation of a carbon tax, the report said.

Koizumi said that if a carbon tax is not adopted, taxes will be levied on trade with Europe, where the tax is being introduced, Kyodo reported.

Sanae Takaichi, the minister in charge of economic security and another LDP leadership candidate, said she would oppose tax increases for several years, the news agency reported.

“We should not raise taxes at all until we see a move toward the price stability target, where demand exceeds supply,” Kyodo said.

Japan’s LDP, which has a parliamentary majority, will elect a new leader on September 27, with the winner replacing incumbent Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. (This story has been corrected to say Saturday, not Friday, in paragraph 1)