Taxing times

WHEN Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, declared on October 1st that he would raise the consumption tax in April, from 5% to 8%, he was merely implementing the first part of a decision that was taken by his predecessor as prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda of the Democratic Party of Japan. That move contributed to Mr Noda’s downfall. The last time the tax was actually raised, in 1997, the economy promptly lurched into recession, and the prime minister of the day (from the Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP, as is Mr Abe) was also soon gone. Yet this month Mr Abe had no choice. The political establishment had signed up to a rise, and to dodge the hard decision would have damaged his own credentials.