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Japan's 2027 lucky bags are built for a food tax cut and pricey eating out

Japanese department stores are selling New Year lucky bags that double as dining vouchers, as a food tax cut leaves restaurant meals taxed at 10%.

1 min read
Shoppers browsing New Year lucky bags at a Japanese department store.
Image: 朝日新聞

Japan's New Year "lucky bags" (fukubukuro, mystery bundles sold at the first sale of the year) are getting a very 2027 makeover. Department stores say they reflect two things on shoppers' minds: stubborn inflation and a coming tax cut.

From April 2027, the consumption tax on food will drop from 8% to 1%, but only for two years. Eating out is not included and stays at 10%. That has raised fears that restaurants will lose customers.

So some stores are using lucky bags to bring people through restaurant doors. Yokohama Takashimaya will sell ten 2,000-yen tickets (20,000 yen in total) for its seven in-store cafes at 10,000 yen, tax included.

Shinjuku Takashimaya is offering a 10,000-yen bag, tax included, that runs for a year from March. Each month you get a set menu at a designated restaurant inside the store.

The stores are preparing the bags now for the first sale of 2027.

#japan#lucky bag#fukubukuro#consumption tax#inflation#department stores
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