October 16, 2026

Japanese Communist Party members of the House of Representatives on October 15 submitted to the government a written question on the government-proposed bill to lower the consumption tax rate only on food and beverages, excluding dining out and alcoholic drinks, to 1% for two years, and introduce a system of providing cash benefits to low- and middle-income workers to ease their financial burdens at the end of the two-year period.

JCP Executive Committee Chair Tamura Tomoko later on the day at a press conference in the Diet building referred to the JCP proposal which calls for reducing the tax rate to 5% on all items and services uniformly, and securing funding for this measure by ending preferential tax treatment for large corporations and the ultrarich. She expressed her determination to inform the general public of this proposal and the government’s response to the JCP document through Diet deliberations and to build a public movement in order to realize a sales-tax cut that meets people’s needs and correct the current unfair tax system.

The JCP in its document asked why the tax cut period is limited to two years. Regarding the cash benefit system (worker burden reduction subsidy system) which the government plans to introduce without providing the details, the JCP made inquiries about the income range, the number of eligible workers, and the amount of benefit per person as well as about the number of people ineligible for the system, such as disadvantaged workers and pensioners, and about a support program available to them.

The JCP also asked if the government would provide financial assistance to farmers and business owners who would be affected by the planned consumption tax cut.

Furthermore, the JCP pointed out that Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae’s refusal to clarify funding sources that cover the decrease in revenues from the tax cut contributes to a growing sense of distrust toward Japan’s fiscal policy among global financial markets. It proposed that the government impose a fair share of tax burdens on big businesses and the ultrawealthy and use that as a revenue source.