Japan’s Budget Bill Issues Sow Discord Between PM, LDP Upper House Members

By Daiki Misawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

2:00 JST, March 29, 2026

The handling of fiscal 2026 budget bill deliberations has sparked disagreement between Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who is also president of the Liberal Democratic Party, and the LDP’s members in the House of Councillors.

It appears the prime minister is growing increasingly irritated over the difficulties in enacting the bill by the end of the current fiscal year. Given that the LDP is a minority ruling party in the upper house, its options are limited. The government and ruling parties are struggling to find a way to save face.

“To avoid causing any inconvenience in people’s daily lives, we ask for cooperation from the opposition parties on passing the bill within this fiscal year,” said Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara at a news conference on Friday. Kihara stressed that the provisional budget bill submitted to the Diet on the same day was created in preparation for an “unpredictable situation.”

Within the government and the ruling and opposition parties, the predominant view is that once the stopgap budget is compiled and submitted to the Diet, the government has given up passing the fiscal 2026 budget bill within the current fiscal year.

The stopgap budget is expected to be enacted on Monday.

However, Takaichi has maintained her stance on passing the bill by the end of March, believing that it is important to execute the fiscal 2026 budget as soon as possible. At the House of Representatives plenary session on Thursday, she called for cooperation from the ruling and opposition parties on passing the bill during the current fiscal year, while bowing to Diet members from the podium.

When the lower house began deliberations on the budget bill, the LDP caucus in the upper house compiled a schedule for budget bill deliberations. This has become a major factor behind the gap in understanding between the prime minister and the LDP’s upper house members. According to the schedule, the budget bill would need to be passed through the lower house by March 13 in order for it to be enacted by the end of March. In fact, it passed the lower house on that very day, causing the prime minister’s expectations to be raised.

During the lower house deliberations, however, the Budget Committee chairperson repeatedly used his authority to push through the debate schedule, drawing backlash from opposition parties. This changed the situation for the LDP’s upper house caucus, as it had requested that the budget bill not be sent to their chamber while the confrontation between ruling and opposition blocks was unresolved.

To enter budget deliberations in the upper house, the LDP in the chamber had to accede to demands from opposition parties, such as securing enough time for deliberations. As opposition parties have a majority in the chamber, it is difficult for the LDP to push the debate schedule forward, and the view grew within the LDP caucus in the chamber that passing the budget bill within the current fiscal year would be difficult.

Takaichi feels that the LDP caucus in the upper house has failed to meet her expectations, according to a close aide. But the government understands that it is essential to cooperate with the LDP members in the upper house and has been working to coordinate efforts to avoid confusion.

Kihara held talks with Masaji Matsuyama, chairperson for the LDP upper house members, and Junichi Ishii, secretary general for the party in the chamber, on Monday, laying the groundwork for compiling a provisional budget. Opposition parties also demanded the compilation of a stopgap budget, as they considered it necessary to more thoroughly deliberate the fiscal 2026 budget bill.

After enacting the stopgap budget on Monday, the government and ruling parties plan to make their stance regarding the fiscal 2026 budget bill clear.

“We won’t give up until the bitter end, and it’s also important that the upper house does its utmost,” said a high-ranking government official.