Prime Minister Takaichi answers questions in the House of Representatives Budget Committee.

 The House of Representatives Budget Committee on the 12th decided—through the unilateral authority of its chair, Tetsushi Sakamoto of the Liberal Democratic Party—to hold a vote on the 2026 fiscal year budget bill on the 13th and urgently submit it to a plenary session of the Lower House.

Opposition parties, angered by the move, submitted a motion to dismiss Sakamoto as committee chair and are intensifying their resistance. The ruling coalition, however, remains committed to passing the budget within the fiscal year, making it increasingly likely that the bill will clear the Lower House on the 13th.

Prime Minister Takaichi said during an intensive Budget Committee session on the 12th:

“To avoid disruptions to people’s daily lives, I ask for your cooperation in passing the budget within the fiscal year.”

Kaidan, secretary-general of the Centrist Reform Alliance, pressed the prime minister, saying that “thorough deliberation in both quality and quantity is necessary.” The prime minister responded that “the desire to ensure public peace of mind is shared by both the ruling and opposition parties,” sidestepping the criticism.

Opposition parties have been insisting that the vote be held after the weekend. On the 11th, the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) informed the LDP that it would support the budget if the vote were held on the 16th (after the weekend). However, the ruling coalition rejected the proposal, arguing that the Upper House schedule would become too tight, making passage within the fiscal year difficult. There was also distrust toward the DPP, which had signed an agreement with the LDP last December stating that the budget should be passed “early within the fiscal year,” but shifted its stance citing the possibility of a Lower House dissolution.

In response to what they view as the ruling coalition’s heavy-handed tactics, opposition parties have united in protest. On the night of the 12th, four opposition parties—the Centrist Reform Alliance, Sanseito, Team Mirai, and the Japanese Communist Party—jointly submitted a motion to dismiss Sakamoto. After submitting the motion, Kazuhiko Shigetoku, Diet Affairs Chief of the Centrist Reform Alliance, told reporters:

“His repeated use of unilateral authority to convene the committee is unacceptable. It is a stain that will remain in political history.”

The Democratic Party for the People is also considering supporting the dismissal motion and opposing the budget bill.