Japan

The Japan food consumption tax cut will go before parliament on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, when the lower house begins debating a plan to cut the tax on food from 8% to 1% for two years and create a cash benefit program tied to income. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will attend the opening session of the House of Representatives, according to Jiji Press. The ruling coalition wants the bills through the lower house by early November, and the cut would be Japan’s first reduction in the consumption tax since it was introduced in 1989. What the Japan Food Consumption Tax Cut Would Change Japan’s standard consumption tax rate has been 10% since October 2019, while most food and non-alcoholic drinks carry a reduced rate of 8%. Alcohol and dining out are taxed at 10%. Under the bill, approve...

Nearly a month after Typhoon Dujuan passed close to Tokyo on September 21 and 22, Japan is still counting its losses. At least 15 people have died in Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures, according to Kyodo News, most of them in landslides set off by record rainfall. Emergency repairs have only just been finished on levees at Lake Inbanuma in Chiba that burst during the storm. The Typhoon Dujuan aftermath shows how much of the deadly damage came from rain, flooding and unstable ground, not from the wind alone. Typhoon Dujuan aftermath: deaths, missing and damage The death toll has risen steadily since the storm. Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency (FDMA) reported 12 deaths and three people missing nationwide as of September 24, with seven deaths in Chiba, four in Kanagawa and one i...

Japan’s Diet Begins Debate on Food Tax Cut and Income-Linked Benefit Bills on October 20

Typhoon Dujuan Aftermath: Japan Counts at Least 15 Dead as Chiba Rebuilds