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 — mostly food and non-alcoholic beverages — 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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