June 26th - the bill to raise the consumption passed in the House of Representatives.

  The bill to raise the consumption tax rate was approved in the House of Representatives today. It was supported by parties including the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and New Komeito.  363 lawmakers voted in favor of the bill and 96, including former DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa and former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, voted against it. The bill will go to the House of councillors and if it is approved, Japan's consumption tax rate will be increased to 8% in April 2014, and to 10% in October 2015.