Finance Minister Naoto Kan said Feb. 14 that the Tax Commission is preparing to start discussions on drastic tax reform as early as next month with the eventual goal of raising the consumption tax.

Kan said he was willing to start "a full-fledged debate on taxes, including income, corporate and sales" taxes, in March, when the fiscal 2010 budget bill is expected to have cleared the Diet.

He said Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama approves of the idea.

Kan, who previously put spending cuts at the top of his agenda, is apparently determined to move up the debate on boosting tax revenues in the face of rising government expenditures, particularly for social security.

Hatoyama has promised not to raise the consumption tax for four years even though the national debt is approaching twice the size of the gross domestic product.

Kan said he will start to address the timing of potential tax hikes from this point on.