Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced plans to reduce the consumption tax on food and beverages from 8% to 1% for two years starting April 2027. The government will proceed despite a cross-party panel failing to reach consensus on funding and permanence. Cash subsidies for eligible households, costing about 600 billion yen annually, will begin as early as autumn 2027. The 1% rate was chosen over 0% to ease the burden on retailers reprogramming cash registers.
Ajinomoto raised ABF film prices by 30% in the third quarter of 2026, pressuring the global AI chip supply chain. Since late 2025, more than 50 Chinese consumer companies have diversified into hard tech, with Allbirds' NewBird surging 582% after a pivot to computing power leasing. By-health took a 0.97% stake in a chip startup for RMB 50 million, while Zhong Shanshan invested RMB 500 million for a 10% stake in solid-state battery electrolytes. However, cross-industry high-tech M&A failure rates reached 57.2% in 2024, and traditional company diversification failure rates ranged from 70% to 75% from 2018 to 2025.