Japan Cuts Sales Tax on Food Amid Rising Inflation

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has announced plans to temporarily reduce the sales tax on food from eight percent to just one percent starting next April.

The move aims to ease cost-of-living pressures in the world's fourth-largest economy, which have been rising due to the war in the Middle East and a weak yen.

The two-year cut is estimated to cost 10 trillion yen ($61 billion) in lost tax revenues, according to media reports.

Takaichi pledged to eliminate the sales tax on food and beverages, a key part of her manifesto that helped her win a resounding victory in lower house elections.