Official-PM To Issue Specific Instructions Re: Tax Cut On Thursday

Wires carrying comments from Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroshi Moriya stating that "PM Fumio Kishida is to issue specific instructions regarding planned tax cuts on Thursday." The comments come after Kishida's speech to a plenary session of the House of Representatives on 23 October in which he stated that he was considering income tax cuts and tax breaks for business to spur investment.

• Kishida to parliament: "We'll consider (economic measures), including an income tax cut, immediately [...] I'm determined to take unprecedentedly bold measures, [...] I will put more emphasis on the economy than on anything else.”
• There has been criticism of the tax cuts from opposition leaders, claiming they are just a hand-out in an attempt to win votes in any snap general election. Mixed results in the22 October by-electionswill have given Kishida and his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) pause for thought before calling any snap vote.
• The tax cut plans will not only be followed in Japan but also by Tokyo's allies such as the US. Kishida's plans to significantly increase military spending were already seen as difficult to achieve. With these tax cuts, the aim of doubling the defence budget within five years could prove impossible.