The budget deliberation in the Japanese House of Representatives sees Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi avoiding direct answers while the opposition struggles to effectively confront the ruling party's tactics, raising concerns over the quality of discussion.
On February 12, the Japanese House of Representatives' budget committee convened for a focused deliberation with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in attendance, amid strong measures by the ruling party to pass the initial budget for the fiscal year 2026. The ruling party has unilaterally compressed the deliberation time, allowing the Prime Minister to notably avoid direct responses to questions. The opposition, characterized by increasing fragmentation, is finding it challenging to confront the ruling party effectively.
Nobuharu Katsu, Secretary-General of the Center-Left Reform Alliance, emphasized the necessity for thorough budget deliberation to uphold the principles of fiscal democracy. Meanwhile, Mayuko Toyoda from the Participatory Party remarked on the brief duration of the questioning, pointing out that it is possible to pass necessary parts of the provisional budget ahead of time. Arguments from opposition members protesting against the abrupt shortening of deliberation time have become frequent during the budget committee meetings.
Despite the Prime Minister's attendance having amassed a total of 32 hours until February 12, this is only about 60% of the time devoted to budget discussions in the previous year when the ruling party had a smaller majority. The limited time for basic questioning, especially within the last three days, has highlighted the Prime Minister’s reluctance to provide open and clear answers, raising concerns among opposition parties about the diminishing quality of democratic debate on the budget, as essential discussions may be conducted at a pace that prevents thorough scrutiny.
