Is Japan’s sales tax increase debate ‘just for show’?

Via the Wall Street Journal comes this snippet of Japanese politics surrounding the debate regarding the next scheduled sales tax hike …

• … many people who follow Japanese politics closely think any talk of a debate on the tax increase may just be for show.
• The Japan Research Institute’s Kenji Yumoto, for one, suggests Mr. Abe will probably go ahead with the tax increase. “He probably wants to give the impression that he only decided to go ahead with it with great reluctance,” he said.

The article is ungated and is a quick read: How Would Japan PM Abe Stop the Sales-Tax Increase?