00:00Japan's Prime Minister Sanai Takechi looks sad for a decisive win in Sunday's election,
00:05according to the latest polls.
00:07She has promised to suspend the 8% consumption tax on food and drinks
00:11for two years to help with rising living costs.
00:14Critics warn it could strain Japan's already fragile finances.
00:20Political scientist Koichi Nakano from Sofia University
00:24said Takechi's tax promise looks to be more about politics than policy.
00:30If they're so keen on reducing consumption tax, why didn't they do that already,
00:34given that they have been in power?
00:36It's not like a change of government or even an election is necessary
00:40for the Takechi government to lower consumption tax.
00:44So it's a defensive move, which is largely designed to try to depress the salience of this issue,
00:52which is seen as a vote loser for the LDP potentially.
00:55And so they are not really seriously meaning to do it.
00:59But they just want to try to buy time and to try to sort of sideline that issue
01:04so that the voting is going to take place more focused on giving a mandate to Takechi
01:09to do what she wants to do,
01:12even though she's not really very clearly explaining what she's wanting to do.
01:16A recent Asahi poll suggests Takechi's ruling Liberal Democratic Party could win well over the 233 seats
01:24needed for a majority in the lower house, up from 198 now.
01:29With coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, the alliance could reach around 300 seats.
01:35If that happens, Takechi could push ahead with plans to boost government spending to kickstart growth
01:40and increase defence spending as tensions with China rise.
01:45Well, Sanai Takechi's comment on a potential contingency across the Taiwan Strait
01:51and Japan's inevitable sort of involvement in that
01:55angered China very much,
01:58but also at the same time caught many people in the policy circles
02:03and in the businesses by surprise as well.
02:06So, in general, it's not as if there are a whole lot of people,
02:10even on the conservative side,
02:11who are sort of endorsing Takechi and really hoping that she would continue this track.
02:17However, she has gained in stature as a tough woman,
02:21as an iron lady of modern Japan,
02:25and therefore, I think it's very unlikely that she'll back down from it during the campaign.
02:31I think it's very likely that she'll back down from it during the campaign.
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