Japan's opposition grills PM Kishida in Diet over tax hike plan

Japan's opposition bloc on Wednesday stepped up its offensive against Prime Minister Fumio Kishida over his government's plan to raise taxes to boost defense spending, arguing the decision was made without sufficient parliamentary debate.In the first full-fledged debate since the ordinary parliamentary session began Monday, Kishida only repeated his mantra that he will "continue to politely explain" his policies to the public, drawing heckling from opposition lawmakers.In December, the Kishida administration decided to almost double its defense spending over the next five years and acquire …READ FULL ARTICLE