Takaichi Cabinet Submits Interim Budget Bill

Sanae Takaichi Cabinet submitted an interim budget bill for eleven days at the beginning of FY2026 to the Diet on March 27th. The interim budget will be necessary to start some projects included in FY2026 budget bill which has not passed the Upper House. Although Takaichi hoped that the annual budget bill would pass the House by the end of March, it was impossible for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), not having s majority in the Upper House, to implement it. 

Annual budget bill for FY2026 was submitted to the Diet on February 20th and passed the Lower House on March 13thwith approval of the LDP and its coalition partner, Japan Innovation Party, which had supermajority in the House. However, the discussion in the Upper House did not go smoothly. Opposition parties which occupy majority in the Upper House demanded enough discussion over substances of the budget bill.

 

Not having experienced in Diet affairs, such as negotiations with opposition parties to pass bills, Takaichi did not understand how her LDP was powerless in the Upper House. She seemed to have been believing that her party would be invincible, given broad support from voters in the election of the Lower House in February. She expected that the opposition parties would give in, facing public criticisms on their rigorous attitude on the budget bill which included economic stimulus plan.

 

However, extremely fast discussion in the Lower House incurred wrath of opposition parties. The LDP pushed the discussion of FY2026 budget bill in the Lower House with only 59 hours of discussion. It has been a usual procedure that the discussion takes at least 80 hours in the house. That fast discussion was made under leadership of Takaichi. It was Takaichi, basically, who spent time for Diet discussion by dissolving the Lower House on January 23rd and having an election on February 8th.

 

The opposition parties kidnaped some other bills, which included one for lowering tuition of public high schools beginning on April 1st, that needed to pass before the end of March. Without approval of opposition parties, those policies will not be applied to each school. It is likely that parties agreed to trade those bills for tuition and FY2026 budget bill. While opposition parties pass the tuition bill, the leading parties abandoned enactment of FY2026 budget bill by the end of March. Not understanding that system of negotiation, Takaichi kept on LDP leaders in the Upper House to make utmost effort to pass the budget bill.

 

The budget bill will pass the Diet as latest as April 11th, 30 days after it passed the Lower House. The interim budget, which amounts to 8.6 trillion yen, is to fulfill government’s spendings necessary for the first 11 days of April. It includes spendings for social security, support for local governments and salaries for public workers. It is expected that the bill will pass the Diet on March 30th with approval of the leading and opposition parties.

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