Japan parties soften stances on tax break on food despite campaign vows

Japan's ruling and opposition parties appear to be watering down their election pledges to reduce the consumption tax for two years or eliminate it completely, as they seek to forge a feasible plan across party lines.The perceived walk-backs underscore the difficulty of securing sufficient funding to offset revenue shortfalls as well as the need to cope with a changing economic environment amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi once described freezing the consumption tax on food items, currently set at 8 percent, as her "long-cherished personal ambition," but…READ FULL ARTICLE