Some LDP Members Eye FY 2026 Budget Passage on April 7

Tokyo, March 29 (Jiji Press)–Now that the Japanese government’s fiscal 2026 budget bill will likely not be enacted by the end of fiscal 2025 on Tuesday, some in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are looking to pass the budget on April 7. The government and ruling parties aim to get the budget bill through the Diet in the second half of next week, but the opposition camp is demanding “sufficient” deliberations on the bill. Meanwhile, the government has submitted a stopgap budget bill to prepare for the possibility that the regular budget bill will not be enacted by the end of fiscal 2025. The ruling and opposition parties have agreed to pass the stopgap budget bill on Monday. On March 13 , the regular budget bill was approved by the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of the Diet, and sent to the House of Councillors, the upper chamber. Although Prime Minister and LDP President Sanae Takaichi has not officially abandoned her goal of enacting the annual budget bill before fiscal 2026 starts on Wednesday, she has asked LDP executives in the Upper House to seek to pass the bill on Friday as the second-best option. Under this scenario, Upper House committee deliberations on the bill will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, followed by the final question-and-answer session in the Upper House Budget Committee the following day. Opposition parties are calling for 60 hours of budget deliberation time in the budget committee. However, as the committee’s deliberation time was limited to 39 hours as of Friday, the opposition camp is seen as unlikely to accept the Takaichi-proposed schedule. Under Takaichi’s initiative, the Lower House concluded budget deliberations in an unusually short 59 hours. The prime minister has also urged senior LDP members in the Upper House to shorten deliberation time as much as possible. However, the Upper House proceedings on the budget bill has not proceed as she wants, and the prime minister is “increasingly frustrated,” according to a veteran party member. Due to the Lower House’s constitutional supremacy, the fiscal 2026 budget bill will automatically be enacted after April 11, or 30 days after it passed the Lower House, even if the Upper House does not hold a vote. With this in mind, some LDP lawmakers are considering enacting the budget bill on April 7 as a realistic option. They plan to hold Upper House Budget Committee deliberations for at least 55 hours, including two intensive sessions attended by the prime minister. A senior LDP member in the Upper House said, “I think we’ll be able to offer something that falls within the parameters of the opposition parties’ demands.” Meanwhile, the ruling bloc will also maneuver to secure a majority vote for the budget bill in the Upper House, where it lacks a majority. As the LDP and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, are four seats short of an Upper House majority, they will seek support from independent lawmakers, as well as small parties such as Team Mirai. While the ruling bloc steamrolled the regular budget bill through the Lower House, where it has a substantial majority, it has carefully consulted with the opposition camp about proceedings on the bill in the Upper House. This is because the ruling bloc hopes to avoid conflict with the opposition side as much as possible in the second half of the ongoing Diet session. After the regular budget bill is enacted, the Diet is slated to discuss over 60 government-sponsored bills. “We’ve shown consideration for the opposition parties regarding the budget,” said a senior LDP lawmaker in the Upper House. “So, we’ll have to receive their cooperation on the government-sponsored bills.” “The ruling bloc will continue to fall four seats short of a majority in the Upper House,” an Upper House heavyweight who keeps a distance from Takaichi noted. “It’s also important to consider how we’ll deal with the opposition parties.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]