Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on November 6 that a new income-linked cash benefit program will cover at least 30% of all workers, telling the lower house Financial Affairs Committee the government will consider widening the pool of recipients.
The government had until now described the roughly 20 million people who make up 30% of the workforce as "one reference point," based on international comparisons. Takaichi said the details would be "clarified carefully while hearing a wide range of opinions," and left open the possibility of adopting part of the opposition's position.
"We will set it at the same level as, or above, the 30% seen in other countries," Takaichi said, in reply to Komeito's Mitsunari Okamoto. Okamoto called for measures to soften the shock for households that would face a de facto tax increase once a two-year tax cut from April 2027 ends.
The ruling parties intend to put the bill to a vote in the committee and in a plenary session of the lower house on the same day, moving it through the chamber. The opposition will decide how to respond after weighing the prime minister's answers.
The Democratic Party for the People's executive council decided on November 6 to oppose the consumption tax cut bill at the lower house vote and notified its lawmakers in writing. Debate on the bill began at a plenary session on October 20, and committee deliberation, including joint review and witness questioning, has run past 30 hours.