Noda gambles on consumption tax rise Yoshihiko Noda, Japan's prime minister, is scrambling to shore up support within his fractious ruling Democratic party amid open rebellion from opponents of his plans to double the 5 per cent consumption tax. The revolt, centred on discontented former DPJ leader and party heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa, underscores the difficulties the ruling party has faced in establishing a unified line on key policies since winning power in 2009. Mr Ozawa's suggestion that he might quit the DPJ - potentially taking with him dozens of Diet colleagues - has prompted heated speculation in the Japanese media that Mr Noda might soon be forced from power. Analysts say opposition support for the tax increase legislation means it is set to be approved by the Diet's lower house on Tuesday, but plans by Mr Ozawa and allies to vote against the bill amount to the most severe test of DPJ unity in months. In a forceful appeal to DPJ Diet members on Monday, Mr Noda said fiscal strains gave the government no choice but to push through the rise, which will raise the consumption tax to 8 per cent in April 2014 and 10 per cent in October 2015. "I beseech you, from my heart, from my heart, from my heart, for your support in passing this bill," Mr Noda told his colleagues. Japan's Kyodo news agency said about 70 DPJ lower house Diet members were likely to vote against the bill or abstain, meaning the ruling party would have to rely on support from opposition groups including the former ruling Liberal Democratic party for passage of the tax bill. However, Kyodo said less than 50 of the DPJ Diet members were considering leaving the party, suggesting it could retain its majority position in the lower house and would likely be able to fend off a possible vote of no-confidence being considered by the LDP. Passage of the consumption tax rise will mark a rare demonstration of cross-party political will to rein in Japan's huge and fast-growing state debt. The legislation is unlikely to be the last word on the tax debate. However, there is widespread political agreement that a consumption tax raise is inevitable sooner or later - many DPJ opponents are only arguing that Mr Noda is acting too hastily - and the current bill is widely seen as giving the move political momentum that will make it hard to stop. "I think we can be quite safe in saying that with passage of this bill, there will be a consumption tax raise in the near future," said Jakob Edberg, managing director of government relations consulting firm GR Japan. Japan's gross state debt is more than twice annual gross domestic product - by far the highest level of any major economy - while new bond issuance is on track to be a bigger source of government revenue than taxes for four consecutive years. However, opponents and some economists say the state has plenty of room to borrow more and that the consumption tax rise risks undermining already weak domestic demand, which will threaten Japan's fragile recovery from a brutal 2008-2009 recession and last year's earthquake and tsunami.