Nearly half of respondents to a Jiji Press survey said they support the government’s plan to cut the consumption tax on food items to virtually zero.

In the survey, 49.1% expressed backing for the plan, while 31.6% opposed it.

The opposition Democratic Party for the People (DPP) is negative about the plan. But more than half of respondents who said they support the party expressed approval of the measure.

The government has adopted the plan to cut the consumption tax rate for food and beverage items to 1% for two years from April 2027. It also plans to provide cash benefits to low- and middle-income people, effectively taking the tax down to zero.

Among respondents who back the DPP, 57.1% said they supported the government’s plan, while 33.3% were negative about it. Among supporters of the opposition Sanseito, 61.1% approved of the plan, while 27.8% opposed it.

A total of 65.9% of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s supporters responded in favor of the plan while 23.3% took an opposing position. The proportions stood at 59.4% and 37.5%, respectively, for supporters of the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), the LDP’s coalition partner.

In connection with the tax cut plan, the government see problems such as a possible drop in support for small farmers and restaurant businesses. The two segments are expected to experience lower income due to the tax cut.

A breakdown by occupation showed 42.1% of respondents working in the agricultural, forestry and fisheries industries expressing support for the plan, lower than the 47.4% who expressed opposition. In the commerce, manufacturing and services sector, 48.0% were in favor, while 31.6% were opposed.

The interview survey was conducted for four days through Sunday on 1,974 individuals age 18 or older nationwide, excluding Kumamoto Prefecture, which was hit hard by a powerful earthquake late last month. Valid responses came from 59.1% of respondents.

In the same survey, support for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Cabinet dipped 0.6 percentage point from July to 48.4% this month.

According to the survey, the proportion of respondents who did not support the Cabinet rose 1.7 points to 26.9%.

On the government’s handling of the July 28 Kumamoto earthquake, 43.0% said they viewed the government’s response positively, exceeding the 20.6% who did not.

Meanwhile, 44.8% of respondents welcomed the recent enactment of a bill to create a secondary capital for the country that would supplement Tokyo’s functions in the event of a major disaster.

The figure exceeded the 19.8% who viewed the bill’s passage negatively, while 35.4% were undecided or unsure.

The bill was advocated by JIP, also known as Nippon Ishin no Kai.

While most opposition parties, including the Centrist Reform Alliance and the DPP, opposed the bill, it was passed by the Upper House, with a majority of just two votes.

Among LDP and JIP supporters, 59.9% and 62.5%, respectively, expressed approval of the bill’s passage. In the Kansai region, where the JIP is based, 52.3% welcomed the enactment, while only 10.2% viewed it negatively.

The prefectural governments of Aichi and Fukuoka as well as several other local governments have expressed interest in getting their respective regions designated as Japan’s secondary capital.