P.M. BRIEFING : Uno to Reconsider ‘Perplexing’ Tax

TOKYO —  Prime Minister Sosuke Uno said in a campaign speech today he will reconsider parts of a new sales tax that polls indicate will cost his scandal-plagued party dearly in Sunday’s parliamentary elections.

On his first campaign tour outside Tokyo since campaigns for the upper house elections began July 5, Uno said people may feel some “perplexity” about the 3% tax that took effect April 1.

“If there are areas that need review, I hope to take responsibility and correct them,” Uno told reporters in Osaka during a televised news conference. He did not elaborate.

His governing Liberal Democratic Party bulldozed a tax-reform package, including the new sales tax, through Parliament late last year. Opposition parties boycotted the proceedings, mainly in protest over the role of the Liberal Democrats in an influence-buying scandal.