Economists oppose Abe’s plan to use sales tax revenue for education: RTRS poll

Results of the latest Reuters poll showed that most economists believe that the Japanese PM Abe should not divert the sales tax revenue towards social security.

Key Findings of the survey:

‘Twenty-three of 34 economists said they do not support Abe’s plan to reallocate the sales tax revenue, the poll taken between Oct. 3 and 12 showed.

And 27 of 35 economists expect the government will increase the tax as planned in 2019. Abe has already postponed planned increases twice.

Asked about which economic areas the new government should focus on after the election, 22 economists in the poll selected labor market reform and 21 picked medical and social security reform.

Seventeen economists said the government needs to focus on measures to improve productivity, while nine advocated policies to encourage wage growth and a recovery in consumer spending.Fourteen respondents favored child care and education.