Japan's Cross-Party Council Fails to Reach Consensus on Food Consumption Tax Cut Plan on July 27

According to NHK, on July 27, Japan's cross-party "National Council" failed to reach consensus on a specific food consumption tax reduction plan. The proposed plan suggested cutting the consumption tax on food to 1% for two years starting April next year, but disagreements among political parties remained unresolved.

The interim summary report submitted by the council's working group confirmed that while all parties agreed on the need to support low- and middle-income households facing inflation, no unified policy proposal was reached. The council is expected to move the decision-making process to Prime Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa due to the lack of a clear policy direction in the interim report.