CDP, DPFP, Komeito Likely to Affect Fate of Extra Budget

Tokyo, Dec. 7 (Jiji Press)–The focus of the upcoming parliamentary deliberations on a supplementary budget bill proposed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration will be on the moves of three opposition parties–the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Democratic Party for the People and Komeito. While the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin no Kai) hold their combined majority in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament, they are not the majority forces in the House of Councillors, the upper chamber. On Monday, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama will deliver her fiscal policy speech at plenary meetings of both chambers of the Diet, followed by question and answer sessions, the effective start of deliberations on the budget bill. The prime minister and members of her cabinet will take part in question and answer sessions to be held at the Lower House Budget Committee for two days starting Tuesday. The ruling parties hope that the budget bill will clear the Lower House on Thursday, and eventually be enacted on Dec. 16. The budget bill can be enacted through the backing of the ruling parties based on the constitutional provision for Lower House supremacy over the Upper House. Cooperation from the opposition parties, however, would still be necessary, given the upcoming deliberations on a list of bills scheduled for next year’s ordinary Diet session to be convened in January. The fiscal 2025 draft supplementary budget featuring 18,303.4 billion yen in general-account spending will finance a comprehensive economic package, approved by the government late last month. Funds for over 60 pct of the budget will be secured through new issuances of government bonds. It is the first draft budget that has been drawn up under the administration of Takaichi, who advocates “aggressive yet responsible fiscal policy.” Japan’s long-term interest rates have been on the rise recently amid concerns over fiscal deterioration. “There’s too much spending that lacks urgency (in the budget),” CDP chief Yoshihiko Noda said Friday. “The sheer size (of the budget) has led to (financial) markets ringing alarm bells.” The government and the ruling parties decided to add an allowance of 20,000 yen per child under the budget, based on a request from Komeito, which ended its coalition partnership with the LDP in October. While some within Komeito are in favor of the budget bill, the party is in the middle of talks with the CDP to submit a motion to amend the bill. At a press conference on Friday, DPFP Secretary-General Kazuya Shinba indicated that his party will assess ongoing talks with the LDP on raising the minimum taxable income level and reach a decision on whether to support the budget bill. Another focal point will be a bill to slash the number of Lower House seats. Although both the LDP and the JIP aim to pass the bill by the end of the current Diet session, the bill has been met with strong pushback from the opposition parties. Deliberations on the bill have yet to kick off at the Lower House special committee on political reform. Opposition parties are adamant that Diet deliberations on a bill on restrictions on political donations by companies and organizations should be held first. If the political struggles over the Lower House downsizing bill escalate, this may hamper deliberations on the budget bill, with the approach of the end of the ongoing Diet session currently set for Dec. 17. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]