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Japan opposition wants tobacco tax hike 

Japan's largest opposition party plans to hike tobacco taxes with the goal of halving the nation's number of smokers if it wins the next election, the deputy head of the party's tax team said on Wednesday.

"One of the big challenges is how to reduce the number of smokers and the tax system can be used for that purpose," Motohisa Furukawa, vice chair of the Democratic Party's tax committee, told Reuters.

"As long as it curbs smoking, our thinking is that it is OK even if tax revenue falls as a result."

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