A nonpartisan panel on temporarily lifting the consumption tax on groceries got off to a rocky start Thursday, as two major opposition parties decided not to participate in its deliberations for now.
The panel was expected to be the platform for political wrangling between Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the opposition parties, whom she hoped would participate in order to obtain widespread agreement across party lines. However, the Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA) and the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) both decided at the last minute not to attend.
Takaichi wants to use the panel to achieve a consensus across different parties on how to pause the tax for two years, and when to implement it. But some opposition parties are concerned about the political fallout of being seen as agreeing too much, or not enough, with her effort.
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