LDP Proposes Sat. Deliberations on Govt Budget

Tokyo, March 4 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party proposed Wednesday that a general question-and-answer session be held Saturday over the government’s draft budget for fiscal 2026, which starts April 1. The proposal was made at a board meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament, in light of the opposition side’s claim that the time spent on deliberations on the budget bill has been insufficient. It would be rare for parliamentary debates to be held on a weekend. The LDP, led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, aims to have the Lower House pass the draft budget March 13. With the Takaichi administration remaining adamant on securing the enactment of the budget bill by the March 31 end of fiscal 2025, the Lower House has already decided to hold local hearings on the budget Sunday. At Wednesday’s Budget Committee board meeting, the LDP also proposed holding intensive debates on the budget Monday. Meanwhile, Budget Committee head Tetsushi Sakamoto, an LDP member, decided to hold a general question-and-answer session Friday, using his authority. In response, Diet affairs chiefs of five opposition parties–the Centrist Reform Alliance, the Democratic Party for the People, Sanseito, Team Mirai and the Japanese Communist Party–met with Lower House Speaker Eisuke Mori and Vice Speaker Keiichi Ishii. The opposition officials criticized the envisaged weekend deliberations, saying: “The proposed schedule is unprecedented. We have no choice but to conclude that it is an outrageous act that destroys democratic politics.” They urged the Lower House speaker and vice speaker to make sure that the ruling party abides by long-standing practices and rules related to parliamentary debates. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]