FOCUS: Takaichi's tax cut gambit likely to spur inflation, not consumption

TOKYO - Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's decision to go ahead with a much-debated consumption tax cut is expected to do little to help consumers but rather possibly worsen the inflation-plagued economy, economists argue.

Takaichi on Thursday instructed her ruling Liberal Democratic Party to accelerate formalizing the plan to slash the tax rate on food and beverages to 1 percent from the current 8 percent for two years from April next year. The move came after months of deliberations between the ruling and opposition parties failed to reach a consensus.