(Update) Takaichi Aims to Submit Consumption Tax Bill in Autumn

(The sixth paragraph should have read, “…Centrist Reform Alliance members Kanae Yamamoto…,” instead of as sent. A substitute story follows.) (Update) Takaichi Aims to Submit Consumption Tax Bill in Autumn Tokyo, Feb. 27 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Friday expressed a wish to obtain a consensus on a planned two-year consumption tax exemption for food by summer and submit related legislation to an extraordinary parliamentary session expected for autumn. Takaichi also said she will ask the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito to join what she calls a “national” council set up mainly to discuss a consumption tax cut and a refundable tax credit system. “If a consensus is formed by this summer, I’d like to submit legislation to an extraordinary Diet session. I want to proceed as quickly as possible,” Takaichi told the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber. “We don’t expect food prices to fall drastically, so I ask you to share your wisdom,” Takaichi said in response to a question from Junya Ogawa, leader of the Centrist Reform Alliance, created by CDP and Komeito lawmakers of the Lower House. Takaichi said she had already asked the centrist party to join the council, adding that she would approach the CDP and Komeito separately because they are distinct parties. The possibility cannot be denied that the proposed consumption tax exemption might start in fiscal 2026 depending on the course of discussions, she stated. These remarks followed questions from Centrist Reform Alliance members Kanae Yamamoto and Yuichi Goto. Takaichi’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party pledged in the Feb. 8 general election to lower the consumption tax on food to zero for two years. Over a review of the implementation guidelines for the three principles on the transfer of defense equipment and technology to other countries, Takaichi rejected a call by former health minister Akira Nagatsuma of the Centrist Reform Alliance to introduce a system requiring prior Diet approval for such transfer. “It’s appropriate for the government to take the lead after rigorous screening by the National Security Council,” she said. Also at Friday’s Lower House Budget Committee meeting, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi discussed the planned March 19 summit between Takaichi and U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington. Motegi said the two countries will align their views on policies regarding China before Trump visits that nation from late March. On a national intelligence bureau that the government aims to establish in summer, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara explained that “it would be appropriate to make this an organization of the same rank as the National Security Secretariat.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]