Japanese housewives protest consumption tax raise

“Ordinary people like us have a limited amount of money we can spend each month,” says Natsuyo Makabe, a protester who took part in three demonstrations in June against the tax hike as well as nuclear energy and a free-trade pact. “Ninety-nine percent of the public will have to cut back on what they buy.”The apron protesters, as they are known, argue that a tax increase would crimp household budgets just when the economy can’t withstand a drop in consumption.They say it’s a bad time for Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to rein in public debt that will be over 230 percent of national output this year, the biggest anywhere.The tax hike cleared by the lower house of Japan’s Parliament in June, got its approval for PM Noda got tin the upper house on August 10 by promising to hold early elections, and has been termed as a dangerous bargain, since his coalition has already started to crumble because of opposition to the tax.Japan’s debt is ballooning as its population is aging and shrinking, meaning there are only 2.4 working-age Japanese to support one senior citizen now, compared with 9.1 in 1965; and If this tax hike gets wrong, PM Noda could throttle consumption, reduce tax revenue, and still leave Japan deep in debt