ニュース 2014/11/18 Kaieda vows, “DPJ will rejuvenate Japan’s robust middle-class” following Abe press conference On November 18, DPJ President Banri Kaieda held an extraordinary press conference and expressed his views on the press conference held by Prime Minister Abe earlier the same day. Kaieda stated, “This reconfirmed my opinion that the snap election is without just cause”. Regarding Abe’s statement that he would make the question of whether to postpone next October’s scheduled 10% increase in consumption tax the main issue of the election, Kaieda commented, “It is true that the appendix of the law [regarding increases in consumption tax] stipulates that the government may judge whether to raise the tax or not ‘according to the economic situation at the time.’ If the government is proposing to do something that is not written in the law and which would place a burden on the people, then it would seem plausible to ‘put the matter to the people’. But postponing the tax hike is not something that burdens the people. The DPJ and other opposition parties are of the opinion that the Japanese economy is not currently in a state where it can accept another tax hike to 10%. In that sense, there’s no political party who will directly oppose Abe’s position on the tax hike, and so this will not be the main issue of the election. At the end of the press conference, Kaieda expressed his strong resolution, stating “The DPJ will call strongly for the rejuvenation of Japan’s robust middle-class. To achieve this we will set forth our policies through the election campaign to ensure that the benefits of politics reach each and every Japanese citizen; including workers, those striving to bring up their children, and those living on pensions.”