To stave off some of the negative impacts of the expected consumption tax hike to 10 percent in October 2015, the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc said Thursday the levy should be reduced on certain daily necessities.
But the coalition stopped short of specifying when the reductions would kick in or what necessities would qualify.
The reduction decision was included in the 2014 annual tax revision guideline, which is designed to shore up the economy and spur capital spending to keep Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "Abenomics" economic policies on track, and brace for the 3 percentage point consumption tax hike in April.