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But the highly popular prime minister, who often speaks of doing things with a sense of urgency, must now deal with the complex details and realities of two issues that will require much time for debate and compromise. Even among the 316 Lower House and 101 Upper House LDP members who say they support suspending the consumption tax and revising the Constitution, there are differing levels of enthusiasm and various ideas on the best way to accomplish those goals.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); });

There is concern within the LDP and elsewhere about how Takaichi intends to pay for her economic policies, in particular how she intends to fund her goal of suspending the consumption tax on food. Eliminating it would mean a loss of tax revenue — estimated at ¥5 trillion annually — that provides about 40% of local government funding for social security, health care and pensions.

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