Poll reveals majority in Japan oppose defence tax hikes
Japan’s largest newspaper, Yomiuri, conducted a survey showing that most Japanese disapprove of tax hikes to cover Japan’s increased defence budget as part of a new national security strategy, TASS reports
It is noted that 63 percent of those who voted were against raising any taxes for the sake of defence needs. This initiative was supported by 28 percent of the survey participants.
Moreover, among supporters of the ruling bloc led by the Liberal Democratic Party, 49 percent opposed the idea of raising taxes for these purposes and only 43 percent of respondents supported the initiative.
It is known that the survey was conducted from January 13th-15th, covering 1,517 people over the age of 18.
Earlier, the Japanese government approved a new national security strategy, which is the fundamental document of the country’s defence policy. In particular, the document spells out the right to launch counterattacks on targets on the territory of a potential enemy. It is known that Tokyo’s large-scale five-year plan will make the country the world’s third largest military spending (up to 2 percent of GDP) after the US and China.
