TOKYO -- When Japan's tax guru Akira Amari phoned Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday to inform him that the ruling party's powerful tax research commission had agreed to offer a generous 9% tax break to telecommunications companies investing in 5G infrastructure, the leader was not impressed.
"Nine percent is not enough," Abe told his close aide. "I want you to revisit the issue not just as a tax problem, but from the perspective of economic national security."
