Budget Bill Passes Before Deadline

The Diet passed FY2025 budget bill on March 31st, a day before FY2025 starts, with revision which Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba accepted based on requests from some opposition parties. Once it passed the Lower House on March 2nd, the bill passed the Upper House on March 31st with revisions, and then it returned to the Lower House and passed it on the same day. It was the first time for an annual budget to go through that process. This minority government had to take careful procedure in the Diet to maintain itself. 

Ishiba government submitted FY2025 budget bill to the Diet on January 24th, on the day one of this ordinary session as usual. With constitutional requirement, the bill was firstly discussed in the Lower House in which leading coalition by the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito does not have a majority. The bill passed the Lower House and was sent to the Upper House on March 4th, with revision of adding free tuition for high schools to get support from Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin-no Kai).

 

It was expected that the revised bill as it had been would pass the Upper House with support of Ishin. However, Ishiba had to make further revision on the bill, because he faced firm opposition from patients’ groups on his plan to raise spendings for expensive medical treatments, which could affect his party’s campaign strategy for the Upper House election this summer. Ishiba retreated from the plan and cut a part of the budget for the health care. The government had to revise not only in the Lower House but in the Upper House.

 

After achieving approval in the Upper House with support of the LDP, Komeito and Ishin, the budget bill was retuned again to the Lower House to get approval on the second revision. The bill finally passed the Lower House on March 31stwith unanimous votes. To show their seriousness to deliver the budget before new fiscal year starts, the opposition parties, including Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Democratic Party for the People, Japan Communist Party, voted for the bill in the Lower House.

 

Approval rate for Ishiba declined with a scandal of distributing gift certificate to young lawmakers in March. Nevertheless, it is unlikely that Ishiba will immediately be replaced. That is because the LDP has no alternative for their leader, and the opposition parties are not united for passing non-confidence resolution in the Diet and establish a coalition with majority in the Lower House.

 

On April 1st, Ishiba administration congratulated its survival for six months from its commencement. In his press conference on the day, Ishiba stressed that he would do his best to support the people’s life with his economic policies, declining double election of both Houses in this summer or including other opposition parties in his cabinet. With low popularity, Ishiba administration keeps on going, based on careful policy talks with opposition powers.

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