Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi＊s ruling coalition on Friday pushed the ?122.3 trillion ($768 billion) fiscal 2026 budget through the Lower House despite strong opposition calls for more deliberations, in a flex of her bloc＊s supermajority.
The Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party, which altogether hold nearly 76% of seats in the Lower House, voted in favor of the budget.
Opposition parties, who argue that more time is needed for deliberations, voted against it.
The Budget Committee has so far deliberated on the budget for 59 hours 〞 short of the 70 to 80 hours of previous years.
Takaichi＊s calling of a snap election on Feb. 8 left parliament with less time to deliberate on the budget in order to pass it by April 1, the start of fiscal 2026.
Opposition parties had proposed the drafting of a provisional budget to allow deliberations on the fiscal 2026 budget to continue into April.
However, Budget Committee Chair Tetsushi Sakamoto, an LDP lawmaker, used his authority to end deliberations Thursday and called for a vote in a Lower House plenary session on Friday.
In response to the move, four opposition parties 〞 the Centrist Reform Alliance, Sanseito, Team Mirai and the Japanese Communist Party 〞 submitted a motion to dismiss Sakamoto as the budget committee chair, a typical delay tactic, which was voted down in the Lower House.
With the fiscal 2026 budget＊s passage in the Lower House, deliberations in the Upper House will begin Monday.
The passage of the budget in the Upper House is expected to be bumpier since the ruling coalition lacks a majority in this chamber of parliament.
If the Upper House fails to vote on the budget within 30 days, the Lower House vote becomes final due to its supremacy in parliament.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.