Japan Lower House OKs FY 2026 Budget Bill

Tokyo, March 13 (Jiji Press)--Japan's House of Representatives passed the government's fiscal 2026 budget bill on Friday after unusually short deliberations as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aims to get it through the Diet before the end of fiscal 2025 on March 31.

At a Lower House plenary meeting in the evening, the budget bill was approved by a majority vote, with support from the Liberal Democratic Party-Japan Innovation Party coalition. It was then sent to the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, where the ruling bloc lacks a majority.

The budget bill calls for general-account spending of 122,309.2 billion yen, a record high, in line with Takaichi's advocacy of "responsible and proactive" fiscal policy.

The budget bill was put to a full Lower House vote after clearing the Lower House Budget Committee earlier in the day. Prior to the committee vote, an opposition-submitted motion to dismiss the committee's chairman, Tetsushi Sakamoto of the LDP, was voted down at a plenary meeting of the chamber.

During the committee's closing question-and-answer session on the budget bill, Takaichi sought understanding for her aim to swiftly pass the bill, saying, "The ruling and opposition parties agree that everything is for the people's peace of mind."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]