Japan considering imposing new tax on mobile phones

The Japanese government is giving serious consideration to imposing a new tax on owners of mobile phones, with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party setting up a study group to consider the feasibility of the levy and how much it might rake in.

The project is being led by Yasuhide Nakayama, an LDP politician from Osaka, who has been besieged by criticism on his Facebook page since the plan was revealed earlier this month.

The tax is being considered because there is a need to introduce new security measures to cover cybercrimes and other illegal activities that utilise social media, Nakayama said.

Comments on the politician's Facebook page, however, suggest that the majority of voters do not agree with his plans.

"Kitchen knives can be used in a violent crime, so are you planning to put a new tax on knives?" one poster asked, adding that it was ironic that the public was going to be asked to pay yet another new tax at the same time the government debated reducing the tax rate for corporations below 30 per cent.

The poster also pointed out that religious groups in Japan benefited from zero taxation.