Japan’s government and ruling coalition have finalized plans to reduce the consumption tax on food to 1% for two years from April 2027, while retaining the 8% rate for qualifying advance contracts concluded before a proposed January 2027 cutoff. The transitional rule would cover transactions such as food subscription services and catalog sales where contract and delivery dates differ. Newspaper subscriptions would also remain subject to the 8% rate, while newspaper sales at kiosks and convenience stores remain outside the reduced-rate system and digital editions remain taxed at 10%. The measures are expected to be included in a Tax Reform Outline by mid-September. Earlier framework discussions also covered temporary relief from Japan’s total-price display obligation, which requires prices to include consumption tax, but the government and ruling coalition continue to face a trade-off between operational relief for businesses and a simple system for consumers.