Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that he was not considering raising the sales tax beyond 10% under his administration, and that he saw no such need at least for a decade.

"I'm not thinking about raising it any more under the Abe administration," he told a debate with other political party leaders.

"I don't think it will be necessary for 10 years," he said, when asked about the possibility of a further hike beyond a scheduled rise to 10% from the current 8% in October.