Prime Minister Takaichi fails to see any points of contact with consumption tax cut, gives "zero answer" to opposition party - representative question

Concerning the consumption tax reduction bill, which will be the main focus of the extraordinary Diet session, a debate erupted during questions asked by representatives of both the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors on the 8th. Opposition parties demanded clarification of financial sources and an explanation of the benefit system, but Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi merely reiterated the government's previous policy. The ruling party is in the minority in the House of Councilors, and passing the bill will require the cooperation of the opposition parties, but there are no visible points of contact between the ruling and opposition parties.

Prime Minister Takaichi defers consumption tax cuts, does not rely on deficit-deficit national bonds - representative question

"The specific requirements for payment and the amount of support will be determined by government ordinance. They will be explained during deliberations in the Diet." At a plenary session of the House of Representatives on the 8th, the prime minister gave the following response regarding the system design for the ``employee burden reduction support'' that the government aims to introduce along with the consumption tax cut. Yuichiro Tamaki, representative of the Democratic Party for the People, pressed for the target annual income and benefits, saying, ``I would like you to specify here and now. This is a prerequisite for deliberating the bill,'' but the prime minister did not go into detail.

The support funds are the mainstay of the bill, which is bundled with tax reduction measures. The ruling party is of the view that there is room to gain support if the opposition party's demands are accepted regarding the scope and amount of benefits. However, there was no scene in which the prime minister called on the opposition parties to hold talks in his answer.

Regarding the revenue source of the tax cut, which the Prime Minister emphasized in his policy speech that ``there is nothing to worry about,'' Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan Secretary-General Masayo Tanabe said at a plenary session of the House of Councilors on the 8th, ``I want to hear an explanation that will convince the people that there is nothing to worry about.'' The prime minister declined to provide an explanation, saying, ``We will definitely make it clear during the budget formulation process.'' Although the government says it will "secure the funds without relying on special public bonds (deficit bonds)," the details of the financial resources remain unclear.

The Democratic Party for the People, Komeito, and Rikun Democratic Party are of the position that benefits should be promptly implemented as a countermeasure to rising prices, rather than reducing the consumption tax. Messrs. Tamaki and Tanabe requested early implementation of the benefits, but the prime minister refused, saying, ``We are not thinking about it.''

In his speech expressing his views, the prime minister pointed out that ``there are many things that we can share with the opposition parties'' regarding the consumption tax reduction bill. However, after asking questions from the representative, Mr. Tamaki expressed his dissatisfaction to reporters, saying, ``I can't see the whole picture of the target of support, the amount of support, and the financial resources.'' A senior RDP official criticized the bill, asking, ``Is it possible to deliberate on a bill that is so unclear?''

The tax cut bill is expected to be debated in the plenary session of the House of Representatives on the 20th. Seiji Matsuyama, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's House of Councilors, expressed his hope at a press conference on the 8th, saying, ``If we have careful discussion, there is room for approval.''