‘Embarrassment for Japan’: PM wants to cut sales tax but cash registers say no

Sanae Takaichi pledged to suspend an 8% levy on food sales, but retailers say their systems aren’t designed for a tax of zero per cent

The Japanese government has pledged to suspend an 8% sales tax on food but says it is being thwarted by an unexpected opponent – uncooperative cash registers.

According to the devices’ manufacturers, the systems at big retail chains that process everything from cash to cardless transactions were never designed to calculate a tax rate of zero and so they require a major overhaul that could take up to a year.