Scandal-hit minister Kazuo Yana now accused of election violation

Opposition lawmakers pressed Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday over whether her economic policies would relieve cost-of-living burdens on households, as allegations of an election law violation leveled against a newly appointed member of her Cabinet took center stage at a Lower House budget committee hearing.

Takaichi defended her plans to stimulate domestic investment and temporarily cut the consumption tax on food while declining to judge whether farm minister Kazuo Yana’s election campaign earlier this year had violated the law.

The exchanges came as the government seeks parliamentary approval for a bill to reduce the food tax rate from 8% to 1% for two years beginning in April 2027. The legislation, submitted Friday, also provides for income-linked payments.