Japanese policymakers vowed on Wednesday to raise the sales tax to 10% as planned in October, following the passage in parliament of the budget bill for the next fiscal year beginning next month.

Speculation lingers among market players that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may again put off the twice-delayed tax increase as Japan's export-led economy sputters in the face of slowing global growth and the Sino-U.S. trade war.

Parliament approved on Wednesday a record 101 trillion yen draft budget for the coming fiscal year starting April 1. The general-account budget for the fiscal 2019 features increased spending on welfare, public works and defence on top of steps worth 2 trillion yen to ease the pain of the sales tax hike from the current 8%.