Japan’s First Lady speaks out on sales tax, nuclear power

By Linda Sieg TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese First Lady Akie Abe – often called the “household opposition” for her penchant to speak out – said on Thursday the country should consider cutting wasteful spending and boosting the economy before going ahead with a rise in the sales tax to 10 percent, as her husband wrestles with just that decision. Mrs. Abe is a rarity among Japan’s First Ladies, most of whom have been largely invisible. “Considering the falling birth rate and ageing society, it probably can’t be helped,” Akie Abe, 52, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday at the prime minister’s official residence, referring to an eventual rise in the sales tax. “I can understand there are aspects that would be difficult if we don’t raise the sales tax, but in my personal opinion, before doing that, shouldn’t we put a bit effort into the economy, fix what can be fixed and cut what can be cut?” But she added: “This won’t change just because I say so.” Prime Minister Abe must decide by December whether to proceed with a second-stage rise in the sales tax to 10 percent that is planned for October 2015 to help curb Japan’s huge public debt and fund the ballooning costs of its ageing society.