The government decided on 29 September to use reserve funds to start preparations for a consumption-tax cut, the finance minister said at his post-cabinet press conference. The record of the conference gives no amount for the reserve-fund use, and the minister's opening statement, where he first described it, is not reproduced in the conference summary.
What was decided
The minister said the cabinet-approved outline and the wider debate had stressed that a smooth rollout requires preparations to start immediately. The reserve-fund decision follows from that.
He pointed to smart registers and POS registers at small and medium-sized firms, the introduction of support payments, which requires changes to municipal tax systems, and registration of public-fund receiving accounts. He described the aim as dealing with problems already flagged as quickly as possible.
What remains open
Reporters asked how the government would justify spending reserve funds on a purpose the Diet has not yet debated, and whether the move showed resolve to pass the legislation regardless of the Upper House outcome. The minister replied that the decision rests on the cabinet-approved outline and the need for fairly quick support for transition and upgrades. He said Diet tactics are not handled at the press conference and no such discussion takes place there.
The conference record does not say how many small retailers can finish register upgrades in time, a concern a reporter raised. The minister did not address it directly.
Yen and yields: comment, not policy
The minister said he spoke by phone with the US Treasury Secretary on 25 September and that both sides reaffirmed closer Japan-US cooperation on financial market trends. The prime minister separately spoke to President Trump, and the minister said the exchange rate did not come up in that call. He repeated that, as a general view, an undervalued yen is a problem, and that he told the Treasury Secretary the prime minister is not a reflationist. He would not address future FX policy or levels, beyond continuing close contact with the US Treasury and working toward orderly currency markets, as the two sides said in separate statements on 3 August.
Asked about long-term yields, which the questioner said remain in the 3% range, the minister again declined to discuss specific figures. He said his ministry handles government debt management and is in close dialogue with market participants. He relayed that a Wall Street bank chairman and a veteran US investor, who visited last week, viewed rising US yields as notable but not abnormal, and said Japan's rise is not large compared with others. The minister said he shares that calm view.
Also on the record
The minister said the Financial Services Agency's proposed inspection planning office does not yet exist. It is part of a request for the fiscal 2027 organisation and headcount budget. He said the intent is to strengthen inspection and supervision after fraud and management problems at regional financial institutions, and he had not heard how the agency would handle line-sheet-style loan sampling.