The plenary session of the Japanese House of Representatives this afternoon voted on the consumption tax reduction bill submitted by the Takaichi government. The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Restoration Association passed the bill with a majority vote, while opposition parties such as the National Democratic Party, the Komeito Party, the Democratic Reform Association, and participating political parties voted against it. Former Japanese Prime Minister Ishiwari Shigeru left the venue before the vote. According to reports, Shigeru Ishiwari said “I can't approve of that kind of thing” to others. In addition, many other members of the Liberal Democratic Party left the venue before the vote. The Takaichi Sanae government previously passed a food consumption tax reduction policy and decided to reduce the tax rate from the current 8% to 1% starting April 2027. The policy is valid for 2 years. However, due to Japan's huge fiscal gap, and the subsequent risks of the superposition policy are difficult to eliminate, Japanese public opinion is worried that the effects of this policy will be limited. Previously, Sanae Takaichi proposed a “zero food consumption tax” promise when running for Prime Minister of Japan, but due to reasons such as the full implementation of the zero tax rate requiring enterprises to reform the cashier system on a large scale, it was very difficult to implement the policy, and the Liberal Democratic Party eventually adjusted the plan to 1%. If this policy is successfully implemented, it will be the first time that Japan has lowered the consumption tax rate since the introduction of consumption tax in 1989.

The plenary session of the Japanese House of Representatives this afternoon voted on the consumption tax reduction bill submitted by the Takaichi government. The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Restoration Association passed the bill with a majority vote, while opposition parties such as the National Democratic Party, the Komeito Party, the Democratic Reform Association, and participating political parties voted against it. Former Japanese Prime Minister Ishiwari Shigeru left the venue before the vote. According to reports, Shigeru Ishiwari said “I can't approve of that kind of thing” to others. In addition, many other members of the Liberal Democratic Party left the venue before the vote. The Takaichi Sanae government previously passed a food consumption tax reduction policy and decided to reduce the tax rate from the current 8% to 1% starting April 2027. The policy is valid for 2 years. However, due to Japan's huge fiscal gap, and the subsequent risks of the superposition policy are difficult to eliminate, Japanese public opinion is worried that the effects of this policy will be limited. Previously, Sanae Takaichi proposed a “zero food consumption tax” promise when running for Prime Minister of Japan, but due to reasons such as the full implementation of the zero tax rate requiring enterprises to reform the cashier system on a large scale, it was very difficult to implement the policy, and the Liberal Democratic Party eventually adjusted the plan to 1%. If this policy is successfully implemented, it will be the first time that Japan has lowered the consumption tax rate since the introduction of consumption tax in 1989.