But like elections anywhere else, what's foremost on the minds of voters is the state of the Japanese economy, and more specifically, the household pocketbook.

So while Japan's debt-to-gross domestic product ratio remains the second-largest in the world at 190 percent, only slightly below that of Zimbabwe, the single biggest economic topic that dominates headlines is whether to double the sales tax to 10 percent from 5 percent.

Currently, the consumption tax raises about $77.7 billion a year. By doubling the tax rate, the amount raised would be doubled too, or so the logic goes.

Indeed, so great are voters' concerns about Japan's economic future that daily Mainchi Shimbun found last week that more than 70 percent of voters supported Prime Minister Naoto Kan's tax hike proposal since June 17 as part of the coalition government's bid to reinvigorate the economy.

What's more, Kan's Democratic Party of Japan is expected to remain in government after the election, even though there are concerns that the DPJ may not be able to secure the 56 seats it needs to control the upper chamber. Kan himself has declared that he would be able to deliver at least 54 seats.

"Of course, that's going to go down better than cutting back on spending," said Hisayuki Miyake, a political commentator appearing on TV Asahi's talk show "TV Tackle," adding that a 10 percent consumption tax was in line with the rate with most industrialized countries.

By pushing for a tax increase during an election, Kan has made clear that Japan needs to address its debt crisis head-on but with minimal pain to key constituents such as retirees and young families, who would howl at any reduction in their pension payments or child care grants.

Never mind that Japan's public debt has well exceeded that of Italy or Greece, which rank in sixth and seventh place, respectively, according to the latest CIA World Factbook.

Cutting spending is simply not in the cards ahead of an election, particularly as there's little concern in the mainstream media that Japan will go the way of its European counterparts and not just because the country has its own currency independent of other central banks.

Yet it is unlikely that a sales tax hike will be a panacea to Japan's current economic situation. After all, with public debt reaching nearly $10 trillion, the amount raised by a sales tax would hardly be more than chump change and the rate hike would be implemented in two to three years' time.

Moreover, even though the tax rate was raised to 5 percent from 3 percent in 1997, that was soon followed by the financial meltdown of East Asia and the collapse of a number of domestic banks.

In addition, a tax hike will invariably lead to sluggish sales, at least during the first few months after its introduction, which could prove costly at a time when the global economy remains fragile.

Furthermore, Kan has already stated that of the total to be raised by the tax increase, at least $11.4 billion, will be allotted to social funds concerning elderly care.

What is clear, though, is that time is certainly not on Japan's side. Nearly a quarter of Japan's population of 126 million will be 65 years old or older this year, compared to 13 percent in the United States. The graying rate is expected to rise steadily in coming years and reach about one-third of the population within the next decade.

It may be nearly impossible to come up with a pain- and risk-free way to tackle Japan's debt load. Perhaps that's why the most popular candidate in the latest election is Ryoko Tani, a gold medal-winning judo wrestler who is running for office as a DPJ member for the first time. Her campaign rallies may be lacking in vision and oratory finesse but the lightweight wrestler has shown time again that she can knock down some big problems with a swift kick.

(Shihoko Goto is a former senior correspondent for UPI's Business Desk and is currently a freelance journalist who divides her time between Washington Tokyo. She has written for Dow Jones, Bridge News, Congress Daily and a number of Japanese publications including AERA, a weekly magazine of Asahi Shimbun.)

(United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.)

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