On October 10, Toshiaki Suzuki, Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), met with Gatsuya Shiba, Secretary-General of the National Democratic Party, to solicit cooperation on the government's proposed budget for fiscal year 2026. Shiba highlighted the necessity for careful budget discussions and signaled that agreeing to the ruling party's plan to have the budget passed in the House of Representatives by October 13 would be challenging. The LDP's attempt to incorporate some opposition parties into the budget process did not yield the desired results during this meeting.

The backdrop of this meeting includes a prior agreement made last December, before a House of Representatives dissolution, between the LDP and the National Democratic Party that aimed for an early passage of the budget within the fiscal year. In response to this agreement, Suzuki requested Shiba's cooperation; however, Shiba pointed out that it is unfortunate for those who wish to support Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's strategies on foreign relations and measures against rising prices to feel they cannot do so due to the roughness of the deliberation process, advocating for more thorough discussions.

After the meeting, Shiba reiterated that cooperation on the expected passage of the budget in the House on October 13, as it stands, is unlikely. He expressed that, even if the budget progresses rapidly, getting a majority in the House of Councillors would be impossible with the combined numbers of the LDP and Japan Innovation Party. Despite this, Shiba emphasized the importance of ongoing discussions within his party to evaluate how they can respond in future meetings with the LDP.