A Tax Revolt in Japan, and a Bond Bubble Too

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 the lower house of Japan’s Parliament in June. Noda got the tax approved by the upper house on August 10 by promising to hold early elections. That’s a dangerous bargain; his coalition has already started to crumble because of opposition to the tax.