Japan Biz Leaders React to FY 2026 Draft Budget

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s business leaders have offered a mixed response to the government’s draft budget for fiscal 2026, which was adopted at a cabinet meeting on Friday. Yoshinobu Tsutsui, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, the country’s biggest organization of employers, said that the draft budget “includes many measures to realize a strong economy,” which is a goal set by the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The Keidanren chairman hailed the draft budget for embodying a direction in which the public and private sectors will collaborate to promote both crisis management investment and growth investment with the aim of boosting potential growth. Tsutsui also stated that the partial implementation of social security system reforms reflected in the draft budget would curb the rise in insurance premiums for the working generation. Ken Kobayashi, head of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that the draft budget “involves policies to improve regional earning capabilities, such as providing support for startups and business succession.” Meanwhile, Mitsuo Iwai, acting chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, or Keizai Doyukai, expressed concerns about the record-high general-account spending of 122,309.2 billion yen included in the draft budget, saying that “consideration for fiscal discipline had waned.” He called for improvements in expenditure allocation. Iwai also said, “Social security reforms are insufficient, as seen in the postponement of the proposed exclusion of prescription medicines whose ingredients and effects are similar to over-the-counter drugs from public health insurance coverage.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]