To explore the hidden reason for this, the increased levy is caused by faltering Abenomics, which has become less effective in recent months. The increased tax cannot stimulate consumption and the market has even cooled after the new policy. All these factors lead to a less sustainable tax revenue as 60 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Japan is made up of consumption, which has been falling for the last 20 years, and is less likely to rebound in the near future. Weak consumption is a difficulty that every cabinet faces, and Abe's is no exception.

The tax increase will dent support for Abe's cabinet

The support rate for Abe's cabinet is comparatively high in Japan, even though, according to Japanese Jiji Press, support dropped 5.6 percent to 48.1 percent on March 14 this year. His diplomatic strategies, such as forcing North Korea to concede in major issues in a bilateral meeting, and delivering a speech on restraining China during the G7 Summit, which the Japanese media said was widely acclaimed among developed countries, won Abe support from the public, who perceive him as a skilled and hawkish diplomat.

Abe knows more clearly than anybody else that neither pushing North Korea to give in nor being hard on China will aid Japan's economic recovery. The public needs better living conditions. They can no longer bear a gloomy economy, in which they see no future. They eagerly expect the Abe cabinet to make changes. But Abe is at his wit's end when tackling economic conundrums.

The consumption tax caused most of Abe's predecessors to lose their popularity. In 1979, the late Japanese Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira hoped to introduce a consumption tax, however, his plan met with great opposition and eventually led to his defeat at election. The former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, who had supreme prestige in the Japanese political arena, knew exactly how to run the election. But he failed to introduce a consumption tax during his tenure.

The consumption tax was not introduced until 1989 when Noboru Takeshita was the prime minister of Japan. Although Takeshita initiated the taxation, he was soon involved in a business scandal and resigned. In 1997, the then Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto raised 2 percent of the consumption tax from the original 3 percent. However, ironically, the Asian Financial Crisis swept Japan soon after the increase of the tax. Consequently, the government revenue kept declining under the high taxation.

Abe may think he is a lucky man in spite of his unfortunate predecessors. Let's just hope that the economy will stop slipping after Abe increases the consumption tax.

The author is executive president of Japanese Enterprises (China) Research Institute Ltd.

The article was written in Chinese and translated by Wu Jin

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.