Parliament in Japan has passed a contentious bill to double the domestic sales tax by 2015, a move that could spark an early election.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has argued the rise will help rein in Japan's huge public debt and rising welfare costs.
The BBC reports opposition parties supported the bill on the condition that he set an election date.
Mr Noda has fought to raise the tax to 10% since he came into power in September 2011.
It has led to disagreements within the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, with more than 50 members opposed to the tax leaving the party.
The bill was passed on Friday after a last minute deal between Mr Noda and the Liberal Democratic Party.
Mr Noda has promised to dissolve the lower house "in the near term" in return for endorsement of the bill in the upper house, which is controlled by the opposition.
The bill must pass both chambers of the Diet before it becomes law.
