Takaichi Pushes LDP Executives for Early Passage of Budget

By Kanae Araki / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

17:58 JST, February 14, 2026

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, summoned senior party members to the Prime Minister’s Office on Friday and instructed them to ensure thorough management of Diet affairs under the ruling bloc. The special Diet session will convene on Wednesday.

Following the ruling parties’ historic landslide victory in the House of Representatives election, the prime minister apparently intends to shorten deliberations for the fiscal 2026 budget proposal so that it quickly passes. Takaichi also hopes to reduce her burden when responding during deliberations in the Diet.

But if she forces ahead with reducing the deliberation time, it will inevitably provoke a backlash from opposition parties who will view the move as making light of the Diet.

“The budget proposal is important. I want you to endeavor to make it reach the public without delay,” Takaichi told LDP executives, pushing them for an early passage of the budget proposal. The executives included Diet Affairs Committee Chairperson Hiroshi Kajiyama, and Koichi Hagiuda, the executive acting secretary general. Party executives in the House of Councillors were also present, including Masaji Matsuyama, chairperson of the general assembly in the upper house; Junichi Ishii, secretary general for the LDP in the upper house; and Yoshihiko Isozaki, the upper house Diet affairs committee chief. “I haven’t given up passing it within this fiscal year,” Takaichi added.

It is quite unusual for the prime minister, who is head of the government that submits the budget proposal, to summon party executives from both chambers of the Diet before deliberations and give instructions regarding the deliberation schedule.

“Takaichi’s policies reflected in the budget proposal have gained public support through the election,” said a close aide of the prime minister. “It’s necessary to reset the party’s mindset following the overwhelming victory of the ruling bloc.”

The prime minister intends to swiftly pass the budget proposal, on which substantive deliberations will start at the lower house’s Budget Committee.

Deliberations on the budget in the lower house normally last 70 to 80 hours. At the ordinary Diet session last year, when the LDP was a minority party, budgetary debates lasted a total of 92 hours as opposition parties sought careful deliberations.

Now that the ruling coalition has secured an overwhelming majority in the lower house, some around the prime minister are considering reducing deliberations to about 66 hours or less — the shortest time recorded since 2000.

However, the LDP is still a minority in the upper house, so deliberations will proceed at the opposition parties’ pace. In addition, some bills will be scrapped if they are not passed within the current fiscal year. According to a party source, perplexity is spreading within the party since it is practically impossible to pass the budget proposal within the current fiscal year.

The prime minister also hopes to reduce her responses during Diet deliberations. The Budget Committee deliberations, which are broadcasted on TV, are a prime opportunity for opposition parties to attract the public’s attention. So, many opposition party members ask the prime minister questions during that time.

Before the lower house election on Feb. 8, Takaichi answered many questions during deliberations at the lower house Budget Committee, which was chaired by Yukio Edano of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. This made Takaichi increasingly frustrated.

An LDP senior member said getting the post of Budget Committee chair back in the party’s hands was a major factor that motivated Takaichi to dissolve the lower house.

Opposition parties are increasingly wary of the prime minister’s move.

“Given the large number [of ruling party members], I want them to humbly listen to minority opinions,” said Junya Ogawa, newly elected leader of the opposition Centrist Reform Alliance.

Deliberations and voting on the budget have been traditionally made under the agreement of ruling and opposition parties. Therefore, some within the LDP are cautious about taking a hardline stance. “As the legislative body, equal opportunities are given to both ruling and opposition parties to a certain degree,” a veteran LDP member said.