Japan's incoming PM eyes snap polls even as stocks sink

Ishiba backs BOJ's drive to hike interest rates, sees room for higher corporate taxes

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Japan's incoming prime minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Sept 30 he aimed to call a snap election for Oct 27, even as equities plunged on a strong yen and fears that tax hikes are on the cards.

Mr Ishiba, who is set to be formally appointed as premier on Oct 1 after winning the leadership of the ruling party, supports the Bank of Japan's drive to hike interest rates and has said "there is room" to raise corporate levies.

The leadership contest for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has governed almost uninterrupted for decades, went down to the wire on Sept 27, with right-winger Sanae Takaichi tipped to win when markets closed.

With Ms Takaichi a fan of former prime minister Shinzo Abe's unorthodox "Abenomics" policies of ultra-low interest rates and tax cuts, the prospect of her winning sent stocks higher and the yen lower.

Ms Takaichi, an arch-nationalist, would also have been the first woman prime minister in a country where men still dominate politics and business.