Japan PM Abe’s close aide: “Did not mean to object to the tax hike”

Koichi Hagiuda, acting Secretary-General of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), came out on the wires on Friday, clarifying that he was merely expressing his “personal opinion” and did not mean to object to the tax hike which he did not discuss with Abe.

However, he stressed the need to closely watch the upcoming tankan and other indicators to gauge the strength of the economy, Reuters reports.

On Thursday, the Japanese news agency, Kyodo News quoted Hagiuda, as saying that an October sales tax hike may be delayed depending on the Japanese economic data in coming months.