In Germany, the structure of their political system and the structure of their society are very centralized. Because of this centralization, almost all policies made by Germany are also centralized. For example, their process of formulating tax and budget policy is centralized because the government that creates these policies is also centralized. This structural configuration differs from that of Japan, where the system is more pluralistic and their tax policies tend to contain a more diverse configuration. As previously stated, Japan has a low VAT. Unlike Germany, Japan has a low VAT due to public opposition. When Japan introduced VAT, it was well received by businesses, but not so much by citizens; this reflects Japan's pluralism