Abe pledges further efforts to revive Japan economy

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday said Japan will step up its efforts to steady its economic growth, encouraging companies to raise salaries as a means of offsetting possible negative impacts from the planned sales tax hike in April. "I want a fresh start with a fighting spirit and sense of urgency," (Kyodo) news agency quoted Abe as saying at his first press conference of the year in Mie Prefecture. He said the government wants to introduce additional measures to achieve a "virtuous cycle of the economy as well as higher incomes" for households, as the country will raise the consumption tax rate from the current 5% to 8% from April 1.