Japan Sales Tax Hike Boosts Popularity Of Gold As Investors Rush To Beat Implementation Of Tax

Japanese shoppers have snapped up gold bars ahead of a controversial hike in the country's sales tax, which takes effect Tuesday, a key part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic "Abenomics" reforms. Tokyo's Tanaka Kikinzoku Jewelry K.K., Japan's largest bullion retailer, said sales at the company's seven stores jumped more than 400 percent in the first 27 days of March, relative to a year earlier, in an email over the weekend.