Saving Japan and its economy or I'm Ichiro Ozawa and my ego is more important

The lower house of the Japanese parliament voted today to double the consumption by to 2015 in an effort to not only rein in public debt but to help stabilize the economy as Japan's population continues to age with zero population growth.

Japan's prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, has won vital parliamentary support for controversial tax reforms, but risks splitting his party and prompting a general election that he could lose.
The lower house of the Diet approved a series of measures, including a doubling of the consumption (sales) tax over the next three years that Noda says is essential if Japan is to rein in its public debt – now more than twice the size of its $5tn (£3.2tn) economy – and fund rising welfare costs.
"This reform is not just for our generation, but for our future," he said in a final plea to MPs shortly before the vote.

Ichiro Ozawa, the  former leader of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is the Richard Nixon of Japan who opposes the tax increase leads a large block within the DPJ which could with their continued opposition cause the down fall of the current government. If that were happen it would the return of the Liberal Democratic Party.
  Remember these are the same people which brought you the bubble economy and two decades of recession because they were to afraid to confront reality.