With Japan¡¯s consumption tax rate hike to 10 percent scheduled for the start of next month, the government promises to simultaneously introduce a reduced rate for everyday essentials ¡ª mostly food and non-alcoholic beverages ¡ª to ease the financial impact on lower income households.
The measure pushed by Komeito, the junior ruling coalition partner of the Liberal Democratic Party, will maintain the current rate of 8 percent on certain products and is estimated to save households about ?1 trillion a year, according to the Bank of Japan.
Despite that, criticism has poured in.
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