Japan Parties Reach Interim Deal on Income-Linked Worker Benefits

Japan’s ruling and opposition parties reached an interim agreement on July 16 to introduce an income-linked benefit program in fiscal 2029 that will support mid- and low-income workers. The deal came at a working-level meeting of the National Council on Social Security. Broader talks on a proposed cut to the consumption tax on food will begin the following week.

Itsunori Onodera, the senior Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker who chairs the council, told reporters after the meeting that the parties had consolidated their positions on the benefits enough to present them to the full council. The parties remained split over the food tax reduction as of the July 16 session.