TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Thursday that it was ultimately up to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to decide whether to implement a national sales tax hike to 10 percent from 8 percent as planned next year.
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said a sales tax hike next year should have only about half the impact on the economy compared with the effect of the last hike in 2014 because of the smaller increase and plans to exclude food.
They made the comments in an upper house financial affairs committee.