TOKYO, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Japan's House of Representatives on Friday passed a bill promoted by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government to cut the consumption tax on food and beverages, despite opposition criticism and concerns over the lack of a clear funding plan.
The bill, the government's top priority in the current extraordinary parliamentary session, cleared the lower chamber as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, hold roughly three-quarters of the seats.
Opposition parties spoke against its passage, raising prospects of a challenging path through the Senate, or the upper house, where the ruling coalition lacks a majority.
The bill would implement a two-year tax cut from 8 percent to 1 percent on food and beverages from April.
However, the government has yet to clarify how it would finance the measures, prompting questions over the policy's effectiveness and fiscal feasibility.
Opposition parties that voted against the bill included the Komeito, the Democratic Party for the People and the Democratic Reform Party.
Meanwhile, a handful of ruling LDP lawmakers walked out before the vote, including former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Takaichi's predecessor, and Yuko Obuchi, who resigned as a senior member of an intraparty tax panel in August, apparently in protest over the tax cut.
Speaking to reporters afterward, Ishiba said that the funding source remains unclear and the measure would "undermine fiscal discipline," adding, "Our concerns have yet to be dispelled."
Mitsunari Okamoto, leader of opposition Komeito, criticized the passage of the bill, saying it had "left a stain on Japan's constitutional history." ■
