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December 22, 2024
 

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TAXES

Three political parties' secretaries-general sign a confirmation letter in Tokyo on Friday regarding the tax-free income threshold.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 20, 2024
Ruling camp approves tax reform proposal
The ruling bloc agreed to “continue talks in good faith” with the DPP, which wants to further raise the tax-free income threshold.
Jasper Cheung, head of Amazon Japan (second from the left), which will enter the "furusato nozei" hometown donation intermediary business.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2024
Amazon Japan to enter 'furusato nōzei' business
Amazon aims to differentiate its service from other sites by delivering gifts as quickly as one day after donations are made.
The secretaries-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito and the Democratic Party for the People have agreed to start raising the minimum taxable income level next year.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 16, 2024
DPP tax chief hints at termination of talks with Japan's ruling bloc
The DPP would have to consider axing the talks if the ruling coalition sticks to its proposal of raising the threshold to ¥1.23 million, Motohisa Furukawa said.
Commuters in Tokyo in March 2023.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 13, 2024
Ruling bloc proposes ¥1.23 million minimum threshold for taxable income
Tax chiefs from the LDP, Komeito and DPP plan to meet again as early as Tuesday after the DPP, which seeks to raise the threshold to ¥1.78 million, opposed the proposal.
Yoichi Miyazawa (right), chair of the Liberal Democratic Party's tax panel, said Friday that both the LDP and Komeito have agreed to decide on the start date for higher income taxes at a later date.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 13, 2024
LDP-Komeito bloc defers decision on income tax hike to boost defense budget
The bloc originally aimed to raise income tax rates in January 2027, but reconsidered following discussions with the opposition Democratic Party for the People.
The Lower House Budget Committee clears the 2024 supplementary budget on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 12, 2024
Lower House passes ¥13.9 trillion supplementary budget
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s minority government made concessions to the opposition to secure support for the budget, which includes an economic stimulus package.
Fewer and fewer people are using the administrative consultation system, which will mark its 70th anniversary next year.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 12, 2024
Japan aims to raise awareness of administrative consultation services
Fewer people are using the administrative consultation system, which will mark its 70th anniversary next year.
Wealthy people in Japan failed to declare a total of ¥65.5 billion in taxable income in the year through June, down 33.2% from the year before, a National Tax Agency report showed Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2024
Japan's wealthy fail to declare ¥65.5 billion in income
The tax agency attributed the rise partly to the full-fledged use of artificial intelligence to make investigations more efficient.
Members of the Self-Defense Forces march at the GSDF Camp Asaka, which straddles Tokyo and Saitama, on Nov. 9. As part of a five-year defense buildup launched in 2022, the government has said it will raise personal income, corporate and tobacco taxes to cover the added costs.
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2024
Japan wobbles on tax hikes to pay for historic defense buildup
A decision on raising taxes to help cover rising defense spending may be delayed again, a senior ruling coalition official has said.
The Ginza shopping district in Tokyo in August
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2024
Japan to overhaul tax exemption system for foreign visitors
The new system is expected to allow foreign visitors to receive tax refunds for products purchased at prices with the tax included when they leave the country.
People line up to board a bus in the city of Kyoto. To ease heavy congestion caused by an influx of visitors, the Kyoto Municipal Government in June launched sightseeing express buses that run directly from Kyoto Station to major tourist attractions.
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2024
Japan's local governments weigh implementing an accommodation tax
The number of visitors to Japan between January and September 2024 reached 26.88 million, setting a record-breaking pace.
The policy chiefs of the Democratic Party for the People, Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito — Makoto Hamaguchi (left), Itsunori Onodera (center) and Mitsunari Okamoto — shake hands after reaching an agreement on an economic stimulus package on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 22, 2024
Japan approves ¥21.9 trillion stimulus plan
Combined with expected spending from the private sector, this year’s package is estimated to add a total of ¥39 trillion to the economy.
The Cabinet of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to approve an economic stimulus package totaling ¥21.9 trillion on Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2024
Ishiba set to announce $140 billion stimulus package
The package aims address a range of challenges from inflation to wage growth, and alleviate a cost-of-living crunch.
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 20, 2024
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
The package will include cash handouts to lower-income households and subsidies to help families cope with rising utility bills.
A Ferrari F12tdf fetched a record-high price of ¥171,001,000 ($1.09 million) in a tax agency auction this week.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2024
Ferrari sells for ¥171 million at Japanese tax sale
The gunmetal gray Ferrari F12tdf, registered in 2017 and with only 1,509 kilometers on the odometer, received 127 bids during the auction.
Democratic Party for the People head Yuichiro Tamaki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Nov. 8.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 15, 2024
DPP leader clashes with governors over tax-free income limit
Prefectural governors fear that raising the ¥1.03 million limit would means less central government tax money for local services.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 15, 2024
LDP eyes larger tax breaks for individual political donations
The move is designed to lower the share of political donations from companies and organizations, which have been subject to public criticism.
Democratic Party for the People chief Yuichiro Tamaki wants to the tax-free annual income ceiling raised to ¥1.78 million ($11,410).
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 14, 2024
Japan’s key political issue rests on an enduring economic myth
Economists cast doubts on the Democratic Party for the People's push for raising the tax-free income threshold — its key demand to the ruling coalition for its support.
Taxes on U.S. citizens working abroad aren’t excessive so much as excessively complicated.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 14, 2024
Trump is right: Expat taxes are too complicated
Taxes on U.S. citizens working abroad aren’t excessive so much as excessively complicated.
Itsunori Onodera (center), policy chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), told a TV program that the government should consider raising the threshold for income tax exemption but also discuss how to make up for expected falls in tax revenue.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 10, 2024
Ruling and opposition blocs affirm need to review ¥1.03 million barrier
Officials from the LDP, Komeito and opposition parties all pointed to a need to raise the income threshold.
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Mother hopes for reunion with daughter ensnared by Tokyo host clubs
The Kabukicho district in Tokyo, where the daughter of a woman in her 60s fell deeply into the host club culture.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.
Curiosity didn’t kill the meme: Why cats still rule Japanese YouTube
A screen shot from YouTube user @lagelda shows the simplicity of going viral in Japan in 2024: A cat dancing to EDM in front of a green screen.

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