Tag - consumption-tax

 
Menu
Search
 
July 01, 2026
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

CONSUMPTION TAX

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a meeting on economic policy at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 27, 2026
Japan government to avoid deficit-covering bonds for food tax cut
The move to avoid the issuance of deficit-covering bonds follows a policy that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has consistently emphasized.
A draft by a tax panel calls for reducing the consumption tax rate to 1% for food for two years from April 2027.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 25, 2026
Interim draft on two-year food tax cut presented
The proposal calls for reducing the tax rate to 1% for food for two years from April 2027.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at a Lower House budget committee session on Monday
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 22, 2026
Takaichi says consumption tax cut would last only two years
Asked if the cut would expire after two years even if the economy worsened, the prime minister said the measure is only “a bridge” until a refundable tax credit program is created.
The nonpartisan National Council discusses a consumption tax reduction in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 18, 2026
Takaichi acknowledges proposed cut of consumption tax on food to 1%
The plan has divided party members and raised concerns about its impact on financial markets.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party pledged during February’s general election campaign to speed up discussions on suspending the tax on food for two years.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 16, 2026
LDP still considering cutting sales tax to zero for food
The ruling party pledged during February’s general election campaign to speed up discussions on suspending the tax on food for two years with a view to going ahead with it.
A consumption tax cut on groceries is intended to help households struggling to make ends meet.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 12, 2026
Consumption tax cut on groceries could do more harm than good
It could lead to less confidence in Japan’s fiscal state, a weaker yen, higher rates and slower economic growth.
Since adjusting cash register systems for a 1% tax rate would take less time than for zero percent, implementing 1% next April is gaining support within the government and ruling parties.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 7, 2026
Final decision on tax cut left to PM Takaichi: LDP exec
Since adjusting cash register systems for a 1% tax rate would take less time than for zero percent, implementing 1% next April is gaining support.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a party leaders' debate at the Lower House of parliament in Tokyo on May 20. A pledge to cut the consumption tax on food products is quickly becoming a policy headache for the prime minister.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 4, 2026
Consumption tax cut is quickly turning into a headache for Takaichi
Translating the pledge from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration into policy has proven more complicated than many lawmakers anticipated.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Tokyo last month.
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2026
Takaichi administration considering 1% tax on food from next April
A tax cut to 1% would require less time to update cash register systems and could be implemented sooner than her campaign pledge of zero percent.
Mathias Cormann (left), secretary-general of the OECD, and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meet at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 13, 2026
OECD chief sees Japan’s zero consumption tax plan as costly
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration plans to reduce the consumption tax on food items to zero for two years to cope with inflation.
Some are calling for the food tax rate to be set at 1% instead of fully shelving the tax, so that changes needed for cash register systems becomes easier and require less time.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 29, 2026
Food tax rate of 1% pitched as industries push back on PM’s campaign promise
Although the government aims to implement the two-year tax cut to 0% within fiscal 2026, it would take a year to make cash register systems compatible with such a rate.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi discusses tax reduction at a national council in Tokyo on Feb. 26.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 10, 2026
CRA might join national council on consumption tax cut after all
Like the Democratic Party for the People, the party fears the political cost of not taking part in talks over the proposed consumption tax cut for food items.
Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the Democratic Party for the People, speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 5, 2026
DPP to join panel on consumption tax cut
The Democratic Party for the People’s announcement comes after it, along with the Centrist Reform Alliance, skipped the panel’s inaugural meeting on Feb. 26.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a parliamentary session on Thursday. While Takaichi wants to use a nonpartisan panel to achieve consensus across party lines on how to pause consumption tax on groceries for two years, opposition parties are concerned about the political fallout of being seen as agreeing too much, or not enough, with her effort.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 26, 2026
Consumption tax panel kicks off without two opposition parties
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had hoped to use the panel to achieve consensus across parties on how to lift the tax for two years.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivers her policy speech during the House of Representatives plenary session in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 20, 2026
Touting ‘responsible and proactive’ fiscal policy, Takaichi seeks to reassure markets
In her policy speech to parliament, the prime minister attempted to alleviate concerns that her policies are overly expansionary.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks in a news conference Wednesday night at the Prime Minister’s Office.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 19, 2026
Takaichi’s rocky road ahead to eliminate consumption tax on groceries
Before the Feb. 8 Lower House election, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged to eliminate consumption tax on groceries for two years. How will she deliver?
The International Monetary Fund has issued a warning that a reduction of Japan's consumption tax would erode its fiscal space and add to fiscal risks.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 18, 2026
IMF urges Japan to avoid cutting sales tax amid higher expected borrowing costs
The fund described such a move as “an untargeted measure that would erode fiscal space and add to fiscal risks.”
Junya Ogawa, the new head of the Centrist Reform Alliance, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday after winning the party's leadership election.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2026
CRA to study joining national congress on consumption tax cut
Shinji Inoue, deputy secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said he wants “as many parties as possible” to join the national congress.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at a news conference on Monday following a landslide victory of her Liberal Democratic Party in Sunday’s Lower House election.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 12, 2026
Japan investors remain wary Takaichi will spur another meltdown
Worries that she would add to Japan’s mountain of public debt prompted yields to spike last month to the highest levels in decades.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 10, 2026
After stunning win, Takaichi looks to suspend food tax and revise Constitution
Suspending the consumption tax on food items and revising the Constitution will take time, which may prove challenging for a prime minister who often speaks of moving with urgency.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Digital marketer Netyear zeros in on generative AI
Digital marketer Netyear zeros in on generative AI

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER