CRA to study joining national congress on consumption tax cut

A senior official from the Centrist Reform Alliance has suggested that the opposition party will carefully consider whether to join a proposed national congress for talks on issues including a possible consumption tax cut to zero for food.

In a televised debate among political party executives on Sunday, Shinji Inoue, deputy secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said he wants "as many parties as possible" to join the national congress, which has been proposed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, leader of the LDP.

CRA head Junya Ogawa, who was elected to the post Friday following the party's humiliating defeat in the Feb. 8 general election, said, "It's difficult to make a decision unless we hear directly from the prime minister (about the purpose of the national congress)."