FOCUS: Tax cut pledges in Japan's election put fiscal sustainability in doubt

TOKYO - Economists have sounded a note of warning about the pledges made by most of Japan's political parties, including the ruling bloc, to cut the consumption tax in their election campaigns, saying such "populist" commitments should be avoided given the country's strained fiscal health.

With Japanese government bond yields continuing to rise, concerns about promising tax reductions without feasible plans to make up for lost revenue could erode market confidence in fiscal policy and trigger further selling in the debt market, they say.