Japan: the food-tax cut enters debate in the House of Representatives

Le principal point est le financement : le gouvernement exclut le recours à la dette (obligations spéciales) sans préciser comment.

Être in the present is est for a singular subject and sont for a plural one. It describes nature, state or place (“is”, “is located”). If what follows (the attribute) is a noun, adjective or prepositional phrase, it is not a passive. If a past participle follows, it is a passive (est annoncé). Headlines and summaries often use the present to describe the current situation.

Le ministre des Finances, Katayama, a présenté le texte en séance plénière.

The passé composé is the most common past tense, used for “did” and “has done” — actions completed in the past. It is formed with the auxiliary avoir (a / ont…) in the present + a past participle. Past participles of -er verbs end in -é (annoncer → annoncé); learn the irregular ones (faire → fait, prendre → pris, voir → vu). In the negative, ne … pas wraps the auxiliary (n’a pas annoncé). In the news it reports facts that have already happened, such as “announced” or “voted”.

L’examen détaillé commencera en commission des finances.

The futur simple means “will do” or “is planned to”. Add -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont to the infinitive (participer → il participera). Watch the irregular stems: être → ser-, avoir → aur-, aller → ir-, faire → fer-, pouvoir → pourr-, voir → verr-. In the news it is used for fixed plans and outlooks.

« 審議入り » signifie que l’examen commence, pas que la loi est adoptée.

The passive means “is done” or “is being done”. It is formed with être + past participle, which agrees with the subject in gender and number (la mesure est adoptée / les mesures sont adoptées). The agent is introduced by par (or de). In the news it is common when the event, rather than the actor, is the focus (est prévu / est annoncé / est connu).

Minoru Kihara a dit vouloir répondre « de manière appropriée » pendant l’examen, en écoutant les partis.

The gerund means “while doing”, “by doing” or “when doing”. Its form is en + present participle (-ant). Take the nous form of the present, drop -ons and add -ant (faire → faisant). The subject is normally that of the main clause. It shows things happening at the same time, or the means.

Shimba (Parti démocratique pour le peuple) s’interroge sur le retour du taux à 8 % en 2029 et a déposé le 20 son propre texte (déductions de taxes locales et d’impôt sur le revenu, et aide).

A pronominal verb is used with a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous) before the verb. It can mean “do to oneself”, “be done” or “do to each other”. In the news, se traduire (to result in), se tenir (to take place), s’agir de (to be a matter of) and se diffuser (to spread) are frequent. The pronoun changes with the subject (il se tient / ils se tiennent / je me souviens).

Le projet ramenant la taxe sur les produits alimentaires de 8 % à 1 % est entré en discussion à la Chambre des représentants.

De…à… shows the start and end, “from … to …”, and is also used for changes in figures. With dates, de + le becomes du and à + le becomes au, giving forms like du 13 au 15. Check whether the interval concerns dates, times or amounts.

La majorité vise un vote à la Chambre des représentants début novembre et une adoption avant la fin de la session, le 12 décembre.

Le 15 octobre means “on 15 October”. Distinguish the le before a date from the le that marks a weekly habit like a weekday. Du is de + le and au is à + le, so decide the meaning from the verb and period expressions around them. Their role depends on the group: a range of dates, the date of a bulletin or another complement.

L’opposition conteste les quelque 10 000 milliards de yens et le contenu de l’aide, et dénonce une « hausse d’impôt dans deux ans » quand la baisse s’achèvera en mars 2029.

Million and milliard are nouns, so use de before what is counted. Before a vowel it becomes d’. Mille works differently: look at the quantity as a whole instead of applying the same form.

La taxe sur les produits alimentaires passe de 8 % à 1 % pendant deux ans à partir d’avril 2027 : première baisse depuis la création de la taxe en 1989.

Dès means “as early as” or “as soon as”, and à partir de means “from … onwards”. Depuis basically shows a state or period continuing from a point in time. All deal with a start, but they are not used the same way.

Une aide liée aux revenus doit aussi être lancée en avance, dès l’exercice 2027.

Devoir + infinitive means “must”, but depending on context it can also mean “is expected to”. Devrait is conditional. In the news, judge from the context whether it is an obligation or a forecast.

本会議のあとは、財務金融委員会で、本格的な審議が始まります。

It takes up a word, as in “在留資格とは？”, and asks for its meaning. In explanations it is used as “〜とは、…です”. Here the quotation と and the topic は are combined.

木原官房長官は、給付の対象などについて、「各党の意見を伺いながら、法案審議の中で適切に対応したい」と述べました。

As in “予算について”, it shows the topic to be talked about or explained. In the form “〜についての報道”, の is added so that the group qualifies the following noun.

木原官房長官は、給付の対象などについて、「各党の意見を伺いながら、法案審議の中で適切に対応したい」と述べました。

“暴言など” gives “abusive language” as one example. It is not necessarily a closed list of only the things named. It also helps when reading the scope of a news story.

食料品の消費税を下げる法案が、20日に衆議院で審議に入りました。

In “発表しました”, ました makes a verb polite past. The negative is “ませんでした”. Read the actual date together with the date and time in the text.

政府は、赤字国債（特例公債）に頼らないとしていますが、具体的な方法は決まっていません。

と takes the content that is reported or explained. In “改定する方針だと報じました”, “改定する方針だ” is what the report said. Separating the content from who said it and how makes long sentences easier to read.

野党は、財源がはっきりしないと批判しています。

The て-form links actions in a series, in order or as a reason. In “確認して、出発する” the relation is judged from the content. In “〜ている” it can show an action in progress or a continuing state.