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Japan's real wages slump most in nearly decade

STORY: Japan's real wages slump most in nearly decade DATELINE: May 24, 2023 LENGTH: 00:01:46 LOCATION: Tokyo CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of street views in Tokyo STORYLINE: Japan's real wages in the fiscal year 2022 registered the steepest decline since 2014 as price increases outpaced the growth in nominal wages, official data showed Tuesday. In the fiscal year from April 2022 to March 2023, inflation-adjusted real wages fell by 1.8 percent from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. This marked the sharpest decline since a 2.9-percent drop in the fiscal year 2014 when an increase in consumption tax led to higher prices. Nominal monthly wages rose by 1.9 percent in the last fiscal year to an average of 326,308 yen, the fastest growth in over 30 years. However, inflation outpaced such gains by experiencing a climb of 3.8 percent due to surging prices in food, electricity, and gas. During the period, regular salary, including base pay, rose 1.1 percent, wh

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Japan's current account surplus plunges in FY 2022

STORY: Japan's current account surplus plunges in FY 2022 DATELINE: May 12, 2023 LENGTH: 00:00:54 LOCATION: Tokyo CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of street views in Tokyo 2. various of ports 3. various of street views in Tokyo STORYLINE: Japan's current account surplus in fiscal year 2022 dived 54 percent from the previous period, owing to a record trade deficit due to price surges in imports and a weaker yen, official data showed on Thursday. According to the finance ministry's preliminary report, the current account surplus in the fiscal period from April 2022 to March 2023 stood at 9.23 trillion yen (68.85 billion U.S. dollars), hitting the lowest level since fiscal 2014. Imports were up 35 percent to 117.68 trillion yen while exports rose 16.3 percent to 99.62 trillion yen, the data showed. The deficit in goods trade widened to 18.06 trillion for the fiscal year, which is regarded by market watchers as the main reason for the country's bleaker balance of payments. As the deficit

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Toyota raises profit outlook

TOKYO, Japan - Reporters swarm around Takuo Sasaki (L), managing officer of Toyota Motor Corp., after Sasaki released the company's latest earnings forecast at a press conference at the company's Tokyo head office on Feb. 4, 2014. Toyota revised upward its group operating profit projection for fiscal 2013 through March 2014 to a record 2.4 trillion yen from an earlier estimated 2.2 trillion yen, citing the yen's slide, robust sales in North America and cost-cutting measures.

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Toyota raises profit outlook

TOKYO, Japan - Takuo Sasaki, managing officer of Toyota Motor Corp., releases the company's latest earnings forecast at a press conference at the company's Tokyo head office on Feb. 4, 2014. Toyota revised upward its group operating profit projection for fiscal 2013 through March 2014 to a record 2.4 trillion yen from an earlier estimated 2.2 trillion yen, citing the yen's slide, robust sales in North America and cost-cutting measures.

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Toyota raises profit outlook

TOKYO, Japan - Takuo Sasaki, managing officer of Toyota Motor Corp., releases the company's latest earnings forecast at a press conference at the company's Tokyo head office on Feb. 4, 2014. Toyota revised upward its group operating profit projection for fiscal 2013 through March 2014 to a record 2.4 trillion yen from an earlier estimated 2.2 trillion yen, citing the yen's slide, robust sales in North America and cost-cutting measures.

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Funassyi receives award from Chiba police

CHIBA, April 14 Kyodo - Japan's favorite "pear fairy" mascot, Funassyi (R), receives a certificate of appreciation from Chiba prefectural police chief, Yoshihide Kuroki, for its efforts as a special recruiter of police officers in Chiba, a job he assumed in April 2014, at the prefectural police headquarters on April 14, 2015. According to the police, the pass rate for the prefectural police employment test for fiscal 2014 came to 5.6, 0.3 points higher than the previous year, putting a brake on the declining trend in recent years.

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Cabinet OKs 3.12 tril. yen extra budget for stimulus steps

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (2nd from R) and his ministers attend an extraordinary Cabinet meeting on Jan. 9, 2015, in Tokyo to endorse a 3.12 trillion yen supplementary budget for fiscal 2014 to fund an economic stimulus package aimed at bolstering domestic demand curtailed by the April 1 consumption tax hike and weaker yen.

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Kyocera's durable smartphones popular overseas

OSAKA, Japan - One of the durable smartphones Kyocera Corp. is set to sell in Latin America in 2015 is shown in this undated photo. The Japanese company's consolidated sales in its telecommunications business for fiscal 2014 ending March 31, 2015, are expected to show a 10 percent year-on-year rise thanks to brisk overseas demand.

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Japan Post to list shares along with banking, insurance arms

TOKYO, Japan - Taizo Nishimuro, president of Japan Post Holdings Co., attends a press conference in Tokyo on Dec. 26, 2014. The company said it will list its shares sometime after the middle of the next fiscal year starting in April, together with those of its banking and insurance arms, in one of the biggest stock listings in the country.

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Over 2.5-percentage-point cut in corporate tax eyed

TOKYO, Japan - Takeshi Noda (C), chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Research Commission on the Tax System, enters the prime minister's office in Tokyo, Japan, on Dec. 26, 2014, for talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Prior to their meeting, Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Akira Amari said it is "necessary" to cut Japan's 35 percent effective corporate tax rate by "more than 2.5 percentage points."

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Abe vows to "steadily achieve" fiscal reform goal in FY 2015

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (C) attends a meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy on Dec. 22, 2014, in Tokyo. Abe said the government will "make every effort to steadily achieve" its fiscal rehabilitation goal in fiscal 2015, while promising to streamline public spending without exception.

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Moody's cuts rating on Japan sovereign debt by 1 notch

TOKYO, Japan - Thomas Byrne, a senior vice president of Moody's Investors Service Inc., holds a press conference in Tokyo on Dec. 1, 2014, after the U.S. rating agency revised downward its credit rating on Japanese sovereign bonds by one notch to A1 from Aa3 with stable outlook, citing uncertainty over the nation's ability to restore its fiscal health.

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Trebling output of 'Kindai tuna' in FY 2020 eyed

TOKYO, Japan - Shigeru Miyashita (2nd from L), head of the Kinki University Fisheries Laboratory, shows a certificate to recognize Toyota Tsusho Corp.-raised bluefin tuna as "Kindai tuna," the university brand tuna, at a press conference in Tokyo on Nov. 26, 2014. They plan to increase yearly output of tuna to 6,000 in fiscal 2020.

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Hydrogen liquefier unveiled in Hyogo Pref.

OSAKA, Japan - Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. unveils its hydrogen liquefier, the first such facility by a Japanese maker, in the town of Harima, Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, on Nov. 19, 2014. The commercial application of the system is planned for fiscal 2016, eyeing expected demand from hydrogen fueling stations for fuel cell vehicles.

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New antivirus hospital operating room to go on sale

OSAKA, Japan - Kikuo Toyoda, senior managing director at major industrial gas and medical product supplier Air Water Inc., speaks at a news conference in Osaka, western Japan, on Nov. 18, 2014, about the company's new antivirus hospital operating room that will be available from April 2015. Air Water aims to win contracts for 100 rooms in the first fiscal year.

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Honda shows fuel-cell car 'Honda FCV Concept'

TOKYO, Japan - Honda Motor Co.'s fuel-cell vehicle "Honda FCV Concept" is shown to the press in Tokyo on Nov. 17, 2014. The automaker plans to start sales of its commercial version based on the prototype in fiscal 2015 in Japan.

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Japan economy shrinks in July-Sept. period

TOKYO, Japan - Akira Amari, Japan's economic and fiscal policy minister, attends a press conference at the Cabinet Office in Tokyo on Nov. 17, 2014, following the release of a preliminary report that the country's economy shrank an annualized real 1.6 percent in the three months to September.

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Japan, U.S. business chiefs urge sales tax hike to 10%

TOKYO, Japan - Kunio Ishihara (L), counselor at Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., and John Lechleiter, chief executive officer of pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly and Co., shake hands at a Tokyo hotel on Nov. 14, 2014, after a press conference following an annual meeting of the Japan-U.S. Business Conference. The business leaders urged Japan's government to increase the consumption tax rate to 10 percent next year as planned to secure its commitment to fiscal rehabilitation.

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Japan, U.S. business chiefs urge sales tax hike to 10%

TOKYO, Japan - Kunio Ishihara (L), counselor at Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., and John Lechleiter, chief executive officer of pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly and Co., attend a press conference at a Tokyo hotel on Nov. 14, 2014, following an annual meeting of the Japan-U.S. Business Conference. The business leaders urged Japan's government to increase the consumption tax rate to 10 percent next year as planned to secure its commitment to fiscal rehabilitation.

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Sharp eyes 'igzo' LCD-based '4K' panel for smartphones

OSAKA, Japan - Photo taken on Nov. 11, 2014, shows Sharp Corp.'s prototype "4K" high-quality panel for smartphones based on its "igzo" LCD technology. Commercial production is envisaged in fiscal 2016.

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Minister eyes over 2.5%-point cut in Japan's corporate tax

TOKYO, Japan - Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoichi Miyazawa answers reporters' questions at a hotel in Tokyo on Nov. 10, 2014, on Japan's current 35 percent effective corporate tax rate. Miyazawa said he will aim for a cut of "more than 2.5 percentage points" in the tax rate in the fiscal year starting April 2015.

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Auto parts maker Takata expects bigger loss

TOKYO, Japan - Yoichiro Nomura, chief financial officer of Japanese auto parts maker Takata Corp., briefs reporters on the prospects for the company's earnings results for the current fiscal year in Tokyo on Nov. 6, 2014. Nomura said Takata projects a consolidated net loss of 25 billion yen for the fiscal year as it raised its provision for product warranties following expanding recalls of its defective air bags.

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Toyota posts record 1st-half profits

TOKYO, Japan - Nobuyori Kodaira (C), executive vice president of Toyota Motor Corp., smiles as he is surrounded by reporters after a press conference in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward on Nov. 5, 2014, on the automaker's earnings for the first half of fiscal 2014. Toyota posted a record group operating profit of 1.35 trillion yen for the six months to Sept. 30, up 7.7 percent from a year earlier. Net profit rose 12.6 percent to a record 1.13 trillion yen.

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Toyota posts record 1st-half profits

TOKYO, Japan - Nobuyori Kodaira, executive vice president of Toyota Motor Corp., holds a press conference in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward on Nov. 5, 2014, on the automaker's earnings for the first half of fiscal 2014. Toyota posted a record group operating profit of 1.35 trillion yen for the six months to Sept. 30, up 7.7 percent from a year earlier. Net profit rose 12.6 percent to a record 1.13 trillion yen.

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Toyota posts record 1st-half profits

TOKYO, Japan - Nobuyori Kodaira, executive vice president of Toyota Motor Corp., holds a press conference in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward on Nov. 5, 2014, on the automaker's earnings for the first half of fiscal 2014. Toyota posted a record group operating profit of 1.35 trillion yen for the six months to Sept. 30, up 7.7 percent from a year earlier. Net profit rose 12.6 percent to a record 1.13 trillion yen.

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Softbank cuts profit forecast

TOKYO, Japan - Masayoshi Son (R), president of Softbank Corp., announces the company's earnings forecast for fiscal 2014 at a press conference in Tokyo on Nov. 4, 2014. Softbank cut its group operating profit forecast for the year through March 2015 to 900 billion yen from 1 trillion yen, citing a slump at its U.S. mobile unit Sprint Corp.

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Kansai Electric likely to be in red in FY 2014

OSAKA, Japan - Kansai Electric Power Co. President Makoto Yagi attends a press conference in Osaka, Japan, on Oct. 29, 2014. He said the utility may post its fourth straight group net loss in fiscal 2014 unless its idled nuclear reactors come back online, amid surging costs for fossil fuels in the absence of nuclear power following the 2011 Fukushima meltdowns.

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M'bishi Motors net profit surges 30% in April-Sept.

TOKYO, Japan - Mitsubishi Motors Corp. Chairman Osamu Masuko attends a press conference in Tokyo, Japan, on Oct. 29, 2014. The company said while its group net profit for the April-September period surged 30.3 percent from a year earlier to 60.89 billion yen thanks to cost-cutting efforts and the yen's depreciation, it was downgrading its sales forecast for the entire fiscal 2014 to 2.18 trillion yen from the previously projected 2.3 trillion yen.

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Nintendo 1st-half net profit surges

OSAKA, Japan - Nintendo Co. President Satoru Iwata attends a press conference in Osaka, Japan, on Oct. 29, 2014. The company said its group net profit in the fiscal first half surged, driven by a foreign exchange-related gain and solid sales of its Wii U home video-game console.

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Endurance test for gauge-changeable train shown to press

FUKUOKA, Japan - Part of a gauge-changeable train is shown to the press on Oct. 19, 2014, during its endurance test at a JR Kyushu Railway station in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan. The JR group aims to introduce the train on the Nagasaki route of the Kyushu Shinkansen Line to be opened in fiscal 2022.

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Gauge-changeable train runs for endurance test

FUKUOKA, Japan - A gauge-changeable train undergoes an endurance test near a JR Kyushu Railway station in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Oct. 19, 2014. The JR group aims to introduce the train on the Nagasaki route of the Kyushu Shinkansen Line to be opened in fiscal 2022.

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PanaHome eyes $233 mil. sales in Southeast Asia in FY2018

OSAKA, Japan - PanaHome Corp. President Yasuteru Fujii speaks in an interview in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Oct. 16, 2014. He said the company aims to boost annual sales in Southeast Asia to 25 billion yen (about $233 million) in fiscal 2018 from the current level of some 1 billion yen.

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23 Myanmar refugees arrive in Japan on resettlement program

BANGKOK, Thailand - Twenty-three refugees from Myanmar are pictured at Bangkok's international airport on Sept. 26, 2014, before their departure for Japan. The refugees who had fled to Thailand arrived in Tokyo later in the day as the last group under a Japanese pilot resettlement program begun in fiscal 2010.

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G-20 mulls fiscal steps to underpin growth

CAIRNS, Australia - Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso meets with reporters on Sept. 20, 2014, in Cairns, Australia, where he attended the meeting of finance chiefs of the Group of 20 leading economies. They discussed whether they can launch fiscal measures to underpin the global economy amid increasing concerns over an economic slowdown.

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Halloween season at Universal Studio Japan

OSAKA, Japan - Children pack a handful of treats into bags at a Halloween campaign event unveiled to the press in advance at Universal Studio Japan (USJ) in Osaka, western Japan, on Sept. 11, 2014. USJ aims to break the current record annual visitor turnout of 11 million achieved in fiscal 2001 taking advantage of the event, officially launched on Sept. 12, and other attractions.

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Toshiba to spend annual 200 bil. yen in chip business

NAGOYA, Japan - Hisao Tanaka, chief executive officer of Toshiba Corp., says at a press conference in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, his company plans to maintain annual capital spending of around 200 billion yen in its chip business in fiscal 2014 and following years to meet solid demand for smartphones and tablet devices.

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Dollar rises above 106 yen line in early Tokyo deals

TOKYO, Japan - A bulletin board in Tokyo shows the U.S. dollar trading above the 106 yen line, its first rise above the line since October 2008, in the early morning on Sept. 9, 2014. Finance Minister Taro Aso and economic and fiscal policy minister Akira Amari expressed concern later that day about the recent sharp jump by the dollar to a nearly six-year high against the yen.

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Toyota to name fuel cell vehicle Mirai

NAGOYA, Japan - A prototype of a Toyota Motor Corp. fuel cell vehicle planned to go on sale in fiscal 2014 is seen in an undated photo. The automaker is expected to name the vehicle Mirai, believed to be associated with the Japanese word meaning the future.

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Abe reshuffles Cabinet

TOKYO, Japan - Akira Amari, retained as minister of state for economic and fiscal policy and minister in charge of TPP negotiations, enters the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Sept. 3, 2014.

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Panasonic eyes 200 bil. yen sales in care business in FY2025

OSAKA, Japan - Panasonic Corp. envisages expanding sales in its elderly care-related business to the 200 billion-yen (about $1.91 billion as of Sept. 2, 2014) level in fiscal 2025 as increased demand is expected from aging postwar baby boomers. Employees conduct maintenance of a care bed at its Osaka Rental Center in Osaka Prefecture's Kadoma on Aug. 29, 2014.

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Large boiler installed at Kawasaki power station

KAWASAKI, Japan - Tokyo Electric Power Co. shows the installation of a large-scale boiler to the press at Kawasaki Thermal Power Station in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Aug. 21, 2014. The station is planned to start operations in fiscal 2016.

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Japan's GDP shrinks annual 6.8% in April-June

TOKYO, Japan - Japan's economic and fiscal policy minister Akira Amari attends a press conference on Aug. 13, 2014, at the Cabinet Office in Tokyo, after the government announced that the economy shrank an annualized real 6.8 percent in the April to June quarter, apparently due to the consumption tax hike on April 1.

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Panasonic's net profit plunges 65% in April-June

OSAKA, Japan - Panasonic Co. Senior Managing Director Hideaki Kawai announces a 65% net profit fall for the April-June second quarter of fiscal 2014 from a year before at a press conference in Tokyo on July 31, 2014.

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USJ visitors in FY 2014 likely to hit all-time high

OSAJA, Japan - Universal Studios Japan executive Tsuyoshi Morioka says at a press conference in Osaka on July 31, 2014, that the number of visitors to the western Japan amusement park in fiscal 2014 ending next March is likely to surpass the current annual record of 11 million posted in fiscal 2011 thanks to a new attraction based on the Harry Potter film franchise.

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Skymark discusses review of international operation plan

TOKYO, Japan - Skymark Airlines Inc. President Shinichi Nishikubo (C) holds a model of an A380 aircraft with executives of Airbus S.A.S at the Airbus head office in France in February 2011. Skymark said July 29, 2014, it is studying a major review of its plan to launch international services in fiscal 2014.

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Skymark chief Nishikubo

TOKYO, Japan - Shinichi Nishikubo, president of Skymark Airlines Inc., holds a press conference at the transport ministry in Tokyo on July 29, 2014. Nishikubo said the Japanese airline will consider a drastic review of its plan to launch international services in fiscal 2014 ending next March due to disputes regarding the introduction of Airbus A380 jets.

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Skymark considers reviewing international flight plan

TOKYO, Japan - An Airbus A380 aircraft is seen in this undated photo. Skymark Airlines Inc. said on July 29, 2014, it is considering a drastic review of its plan to launch international services in fiscal 2014 due to disputes regarding the introduction of Airbus A380 jets.

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Economic policy minister Amari speaks at business seminar

TOKYO, Japan - Economic and fiscal policy minister Akira Amari addresses the annual Summer Forum held by the Japan Business Federation or Keidanren in Tokyo on July 24, 2014.

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Decision on additional tax hike to come in early Dec.: Amari

TOKYO, Japan - Photo taken July 18, 2014, in Tokyo shows economy and fiscal policy minister Akira Amari, who took part in an interview with Kyodo News. He said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will decide in early December whether to raise the consumption tax to 10 percent next year.

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Decision on additional tax hike to come in early Dec.: Amari

TOKYO, Japan - Photo taken July 18, 2014, in Tokyo shows economy and fiscal policy minister Akira Amari, who took part in an interview with Kyodo News. He said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will decide in early December whether to raise the consumption tax to 10 percent next year.