Majority of Japanese oppose higher defense taxes

Most people in Japan oppose raising any taxes to increase defense spending as part of a new national security strategy, Report informs referring to TASS.

This is evidenced by the results of a poll conducted by the country's largest newspaper, Yomiuri, published on January 16.

According to the survey, at least 63% of respondents were against raising any taxes for the sake of defense needs. The initiative of the government, headed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, was supported by only 28% of the survey participants.

Even among supporters of the ruling bloc led by the Liberal Democratic Party, 43% of those polled supported the initiative to increase defense spending, while 49% opposed it. But even among supporters of the need to increase defense spending, 40% opposed the idea of raising taxes for these purposes.

The nationwide Yomiuri poll was conducted on January 13-15 and involved 1,517 people over the age of 18.