Leaders of Japan’s ruling and opposition parties clashed over how to revitalize the country’s economy, which has been hurt by the COVID-19 crisis, in an online debate held Sunday in the run-up to the general election Oct. 31.
They focused on support measures for households and businesses hit by the novel coronavirus pandemic and medium-to-long-term economic policies.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, also president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, vowed to rebuild the country’s middle class through measures under a new form of capitalism, his signature economic policy.
Yukio Edano, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said that the party aims to raise taxes on financial income, differentiating the CDP from the LDP.
During the LDP’s leadership race last month, Kishida showed his eagerness to increase tax on financial income, but he recently suggested that he would shelve the idea for…
