Japan's PM Takaichi Considers Expanding Support Payments to Over Half of Working People
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told a House of Councillors special committee examining the consumption tax and support payments bill on November 13, 2026, that she will seriously consider expanding the coverage of support payments linked to the planned cut in the food consumption tax, from about 30 per cent of working people to more than 50 per cent. Under the plan, the consumption tax on food is to be cut to 1 per cent for two years from April next year, and the government's original proposal would distribute an amount equivalent to 1 per cent of the consumption tax, about 600 billion yen over two years, as income-based support payments.
Takaichi said the income ceiling would no longer be fixed at annual income of 3.5 million yen, and that a broader standard is under consideration to cover more low- and middle-income workers. Reference ranges under discussion are annual incomes of roughly 1 million to 3.5 million yen, covering about 20 million people, with payments planned at up to about 25,000 yen per person per year.
The bill remains under deliberation in the Diet, and the final coverage and amounts will be as passed. Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama also answered questions on the fiscal arrangements at the same session. (Source: National Diet of Japan)
Source: National Diet of Japan
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：日本外务省大楼（东京霞关，资料图）。照片：Rs1421，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan in Tokyo (file photo). Photo by Rs1421, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
