Alliance politics | Japan Daily Briefing
Managing partnerships, at home and abroad
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As supplemental budget moves to upper house, government looks to next year
The Takaichi government’s supplemental budget was passed by the House of Representatives on Thursday, 11 December, with both the Democratic Party for the People (DPFP) and Kōmeitō voting in favor. The latter came around to support the budget even though it worked with the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) on an alternative proposal, which was defeated in committee. Both parties were satisfied with measures to provide relief to households from cost-of-living increases, with the DPFP seeing constructive talks with the LDP as a way to reassert its relevance even as the LDP-Ishin partnership has encountered difficulties (see next item). Meanwhile, although the CDP-Kōmeitō plan failed to win support, CDP leader Noda Yoshihiko hailed the joint proposal as a significant step forward in building a closer relationship between the two parties.
With the supplemental budget’s passage all but assured, most likely on 16 December, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Ishin no Kai have been holding talks on the FY2026 budget, which is in the process of being finalized. Although the government’s slender majority means it can pass a budget without the upper house if necessary, the government and ruling parties are still exploring whether the DPFP and Kōmeitō would be open to backing the general budget as well.
