The Japan Financial Services Agency released a transcript of Finance Minister and Minister for Special Missions of the Cabinet Office Katayama’s post-Cabinet press conference, covering the dissolution of the House of Representatives and market concerns following the ruling party’s consumption tax pledge. Katayama emphasised that the Prime Minister’s remarks related to exempting consumption tax on food and beverages for two years, with the funding sources and schedule to be considered by a future “National Assembly”, and said no decisions have yet been made. He said overseas audiences in Davos appeared to misunderstand the proposal as permanent or broader in scope and to miss the point that the Prime Minister has said it would not rely on special government bonds, prompting him to proactively restate the official message in English and Japanese. While declining to comment on specific Japanese government bond yield moves raised by reporters, Katayama said global and domestic markets remain volatile, that he has met and remained in contact with US Treasury Secretary Bessent, and that the government will closely monitor the JGB market and investor trends while maintaining careful dialogue with market participants. On concerns about a revenue gap for local governments if food is made consumption tax-free, he said the principle is that local authorities should not be burdened, but that detailed consideration has not yet begun. Katayama also reiterated the government’s intention to pass annual tax revision legislation within the fiscal year, while avoiding predictions on Diet timing following the dissolution, and positioned the consumption tax proposal as an issue for election debate and subsequent detailed discussion in the planned National Assembly.

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