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May 15, 2025
 

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TAXES

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 13, 2025
Consumption tax set to dominate Upper House election debate
Broaching the subject has traditionally been seen as akin to kicking a hornet's nest.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama speaks in the city of Kagoshima on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 12, 2025
LDP and CDP see consumption tax cut as election issue
CDP leader Yoshihiko Noda told reporters in Sapporo that if the ruling camp does not decide on the consumption tax cut, it would have to become an election issue.
A supermarket in Chiba. Politicians in Japan might cut the consumption tax to help households and the economy.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 8, 2025
Economists debate consumption tax cut as Japanese politicians warm to idea
Japanese politicians are considering the possibility of lowering the consumption tax to stimulate the economy in the face of U.S. tariffs.
In a world where capital and rich individuals can cross borders freely, only international cooperation can ensure that multinational corporations and the superrich are fairly taxed.
COMMENTARY / World
May 7, 2025
America is becoming the world’s largest tax haven
Trump is turning the U.S. into a tax haven by weakening enforcement, deregulating crypto and abandoning international tax cooperation, favoring secrecy and the ultrarich.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters about Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations at his official residence on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 5, 2025
Tariff talks with U.S. seen influencing Japan's Upper House election
The outcome of the ongoing bilateral negotiations will have a major impact on this summer's election in the Upper House.
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan head Yoshihiko Noda speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 28, 2025
CDP's about-face piles pressure on LDP to cut consumption tax on food
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan chief Yoshihiko Noda pledged that the party will abolish the consumption tax on food products for a year.
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures in the Rose Garden of the White House, in Washington, in April.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 28, 2025
Trump’s polls decline near 100-day mark, raising tax-plan stakes
Polls show that voters perceive Trump to be falling short on his core campaign promise to strengthen the economy.
Scott Bessent
WORLD / Politics
Apr 19, 2025
Bessent replaces acting IRS commissioner in power struggle with Musk
The move came hours after a report that Bessent approached President Donald Trump to complain that Musk had gone around him to get his pick appointed.
A vegetable stand displays prices at a supermarket in Tokyo in 2023. Some lawmakers are proposing lowering the consumption tax on food to 0%, which is expected to result in a loss of up to ¥5 trillion in tax revenue annually.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 18, 2025
LDP and CDP lawmaker groups propose 0% consumption tax on food
Reducing the tax to 0% is expected to result in a loss of up to ¥5 trillion in tax revenue annually.
Former CDP executive Kenji Eda discusses a possible reduction of the consumption tax rate, in Tokyo on April 10.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 17, 2025
CDP divisions over proposed tax cut pose headache for Yoshihiko Noda
The nation’s largest opposition party is preparing for the Upper House poll in July, in which it hopes to win enough seats to make a CDP-led coalition government possible.
Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Itsunori Onodera addresses a party meeting to discuss measures to cope with U.S. tariffs, held at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 13, 2025
LDP and CDP officials voice caution over tax cut
The CDP's Kazuhiko Shigetoku said that his party has only begun discussions on the consumption tax.
The Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito are increasingly divided over economic measures to deal with inflation and U.S. tariffs.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 12, 2025
Ruling coalition divided over consumption tax cut
While some are leaning toward a tax cut, LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama and others are seeking a cash handout instead.
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda speaks during a news conference Friday afternoon at the Diet building in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 12, 2025
CDP kicks off discussions on cutting consumption tax
While party leader Yoshihiko Noda has been cautious, calls for a cut are growing within the party, especially in light of U.S. President Donald Trump's onerous tariff policies.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba gives instructions to Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa (third from left) and others at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 11, 2025
Japan braces for talks on yen and BOJ in trade negotiations with U.S.
Ryosei Akazawa, who is heading the task force, is reportedly set to meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent next week.
The Osaka tax bureau found ¥1.3 billion in unreported income as Kawasaki Heavy Industries pooled funds through fictitious transactions related to repair contracts for MSDF submarines.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 8, 2025
Kawasaki Heavy hit with ¥1 billion in back taxes over MSDF scandal
The defense contractor was found to have wined and dined Maritime Self-Defense Force personnel.
Leaders of ruling and opposition political parties meet Friday at the Diet building in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 6, 2025
Calls for consumption tax cut increasing in Japan
With food and other prices still rising, even ruling party officials have started to demand consumption tax cuts as a key policy for this summer's elections.
While tariffs and value-added taxes seem similar, a VAT would be a more effective, long-term solution for boosting the U.S. economy.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 4, 2025
Europe’s VAT hurts the U.S.? Retaliate with a VAT.
Maybe misconceptions about tariffs and trade can be turned to America’s advantage.
Tourists walk past shops and restaurants up the street leading to Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto. Kyoto plans to raise its maximum accommodation tax to combat overtourism.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2025
Kyoto to raise maximum hotel tax to ¥10,000
The amount will be the highest among areas using a flat-rate tax system across the country, according to the internal affairs ministry.
Nobuya Fukumoto (far left), a lawyer for the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, known as the Unification Church, is surrounded by the media at the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday after it ordered the group to be stripped of its religious corporation status.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 25, 2025
Tokyo court strips Unification Church of religious corporation status
The order against the group, heavily criticized for its coercive tactics in soliciting donations, removes its tax-exempt status.
While you need to pass over cash for taxes, don't fall for scams that trick you into paying what you don't owe.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 6, 2025
Scams, taxes and tariffs: It's that time of year.
Financial scams abound in Japan and a new one uses tax-related terminology.
Transport ministry issues warning to Haneda Airport operator
The operator of Tokyo's Haneda Airport has been warned by the government over its inappropriate transactions.
Success of Chinese-made fighter jets against India raises alarm in Asia
Chinese J-10 fighter jets from the People's Liberation Army Air Force August 1st Aerobatics Team perform during a media demonstration at the Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, in November 2015.
One month on, Osaka Expo urged to boost heat and crowd control measures
A gate to the Osaka Expo site is crowded with visitors on Monday.
Xi defiance pays off as Trump meets most China trade demands
Then-Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visits a school in South Gate, California, in February 2012. Experts say Xi won big in his standoff with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Japanese retailers turn to California rice for cheaper alternative
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass eats California rice at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday along with Mitsuko Tsuchiya, vice president of retailer Aeon.
Sumo title contenders already emerging in early stages of Tokyo meet
Onosato (left) battles Abi on Day 3 of the Summer Basho in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Harmfully hot days for pregnant women in Japan nearly doubled over past five years
New research by a U.S. climate scientists’ group reveals that extreme heat has increased the risks of preterm births and other pregnancy complications in Japan, nearly doubling the number of days that are harmfully hot for pregnant women over the past five years.
Japanese automakers looking at a ¥1 trillion hit from Trump tariffs 
Cars on display at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday. The automaker posted a massive annual net loss and confirmed that it plans to cut thousands of jobs worldwide.
Tokyo Stock Exchange wants stocks to be affordable for the average investor
The Tokyo Stock Exchange building in Nihonbashi. The exchange wants companies to lower the entry cost of investing in their shares.
Consumption tax set to dominate Upper House election debate
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Tuesday.

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