With the clock ticking, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Feb. 24 called for cooperation from opposition parties to secure Diet passage of the initial budget proposal for fiscal 2026 before the end of March.

“We aim for passage within this fiscal year to avoid any disruption to the lives of our citizens,” Takaichi said of the 122 trillion yen ($780 billion) draft budget at a Lower House plenary session.

She was responding to a question from Junya Ogawa, leader of the main opposition Centrist Reform Alliance (Chudo).

“Given the importance of the Diet’s role in deliberating how precious taxpayer money is used, there is no point in clinging to passage within the fiscal year at all costs to the point of skipping necessary deliberations,” Ogawa said.

He proposed compiling a two‑month provisional budget for April and May, which would include measures such as reducing the burden of school lunch fees and making high school tuition free.

However, Takaichi did not address Ogawa’s proposal.

Instead, she urged opposition parties to cooperate toward passage of the full-year budget before the end of fiscal 2025 on March 31.

Ogawa made the remarks during a question-and-answer session by party representatives on the prime minister’s policy speech that began in the Lower House on Feb. 24.

Takaichi was re-elected prime minister on Feb. 18 after her Liberal Democratic Party won more than a two‑thirds majority in the Feb. 8 Lower House election.

Ogawa, who became the Chudo leader following the party’s crushing defeat, warned against heavy‑handed management of Diet proceedings by the ruling parties.

“Numbers are power. But they do not mean being right,” he said. “We ask for humble and respectful management of the Diet.”

For her part, Takaichi said, “We will put the best policies into practice while humbly and sincerely listening to the many voices that are raised.”

But she added in a forceful tone, “When the time comes to decide after thorough deliberation, decisions must be made. That is the rule of democracy.”

Passage of the fiscal 2026 budget bill within the current fiscal year had been widely expected to be difficult after Takaichi decided to dissolve the Lower House for a snap election.

However, after the LDP’s landslide election victory, Takaichi instructed senior party officials to explore achieving passage before the end of the fiscal year.

According to a source close to the LDP’s Diet Affairs Committee, a plan has emerged to pass the budget bill in the Lower House on March 13 and send it to the Upper House.

Under this scenario, more than 50 hours of deliberation in the Lower House Budget Committee are envisioned.

“It can be done if the Lower House is determined to do it,” a senior official at the prime minister’s office said.

The secretaries‑general of Chudo, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito on Feb. 24 confirmed the need for substantial deliberations on the budget bill.

Chudo, which was formed by the CDP and Komeito before the Lower House election, is calling for more than 80 hours of deliberation in the Lower House Budget Committee.

Chudo officials have noted that the committee deliberated 82 hours on the budget even under the second Shinzo Abe administration, a period when the LDP was the single dominant power.

However, as an LDP lawmaker chairs the Budget Committee, the schedule and other aspects of deliberation are likely to be set at the ruling coalition’s pace.

Takaichi also gave only perfunctory responses to questions on the LDP’s political funding scandal.

Ogawa demanded an investigation into how lawmakers used the undeclared political funds and a report on its findings.

He argued that in some cases, the proceeds should be treated as personal income and subjected to taxation.

Takaichi dismissed his demand, citing the criminal investigations by prosecutors, explanations given before the Diet’s Deliberative Council on Political Ethics and corrections made to political funds reports.

“We have no intention to deem those responses mistaken and instruct that the matter be handled differently,” she said.

At one time, Takaichi struck a firm tone about the government’s approach to the Diet.

“We will steadfastly fulfill the great responsibility of carrying through important policy shifts based on the mandate we received from the public in the recent election,” she said.

After concluding his questions, Ogawa told reporters, “It is extremely disappointing. The Diet will lose its meaning if (discussions) become a one‑way street.”

(This article was written by Amane Sugawara and Takahiro Okubo.)