eye-watering

記事の中に出てくる“eye-watering”に注目しました。眼と水なのでなんとなく想像は出来ますが，SPACEALCで調べると「目から涙がでるような」という意味が乗っておりました。この記事では涙の出る様な国債残高，つまり途方もない国債発行量を削減するためのカギが消費税増額であるということですね。(Ume)

Gov't speeds up stimulus package as tax hike looms

TOKYO —
The government said on Friday it is moving to speed up the impact of a 5 trillion yen stimulus package aimed at countering any slowdown from a looming sales tax hike.

The rare move—which sets out a timeline for spending a big chunk of the special budget—comes days before the release of fourth-quarter growth figures.

They will mark the first annual data since Shinzo Abe swept to power on a ticket to restore Japan’s fading status as a global economic superpower.

The prime minister’s high-profile policy blitz, dubbed Abenomics, helped sharply weaken the yen and stoked a huge stock market rally last year as the once-anaemic economy outpaced G7 nations in the first half of 2013.

But the sales tax rise—seen as key to chopping Japan’s eye-watering national debt—has sparked fears it would derail a recovery in the world’s third-largest economy.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/govt-speeds-up-stimulus-package-as-tax-hike-looms