Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for a two-step corporate tax reduction process comprising a year-early termination of a special corporate tax for reconstruction in fiscal 2014 and lowering the effective corporate tax rate to an equivalent level with other major nations in fiscal 2015 or later, Tokyo's The Nikkei reported. By lowering the effective corporate tax, Abe hopes to strengthen companies' financial condition, which could trigger more hiring and wage increases.