The Tamesis
May 22, 2026
Tokyo – The main topic at the first one-on-one debate between party leaders in Congress on Wednesday was measures to deal with rising prices caused by the situation in the Middle East.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has announced that she is considering preparing a supplementary budget for fiscal year 2026. She emphasized during the debate that she intends to take all possible measures to deal with rising prices. Takaichi has also resisted opposition demands for additional cash handouts and criticism that her government has been slow to respond to the impact of rising prices.
The prime minister responded firmly to the suggestion by People’s Party leader Yuichiro Tamaki that the government “should” draft an additional budget of “about 3 trillion yen.”
“We will consider formulating a supplementary budget to adapt to the situation in the Middle East and other issues,” Gao Yi said.
Since Takaichi had already said at Monday’s liaison meeting between the government and the ruling party that she would consider preparing a supplementary budget, her response in the debate cannot be counted as Tamaki’s achievement.
Some government officials have suggested that the opposition parties “take some of the credit” by announcing the supplementary budgeting package during the leaders’ debate. Instead, a close aide to the Japanese prime minister told The Yomiuri Shimbun that Takaichi believed such a plan would “give the impression that the government is unresponsive” and chose to take the initiative.
The city did not make any commitments in response to opposition demands for specific measures to curb rising prices contained in the supplementary budget bill. Instead, she insisted on “documenting” the calls. The government and the ruling party are considering increasing government reserves for gasoline subsidies and taking steps to ease the pressure on household budgets from summer electricity and gas bills.
Tamaki urged Takaichi to provide relief funds of “about 50,000 yen” to low- and middle-income people. However, Gao Yi did not respond directly, saying only: “The main focus is refundable tax credits, so we hope to have a system in place for this as soon as possible.”
Junya Ogawa, leader of the centrist Reform Alliance, noted that the supply of refined oil and other commodities remains a concern and requires assistance. “The government is not just setting aside reserves, it is just trying to ride out the current situation, isn’t it?” Ogawa asked. Takaichi insists the government is taking steps to address the issue. “We are well aware of the local supply chain bottlenecks,” she said. “We will deal with them thoroughly.”
deficit bond
Opposition leaders are also focusing on how the supplementary budget will be funded.
Ogawa called for using non-tax revenues accumulated through withdrawals to avoid issuing government bonds to finance the deficit. Takaichi replied that the government has begun reviewing the funds, adding that the government will limit bond issuance as much as possible.
Ogawa did not deliver an effective verbal attack on the prime minister. Even if his directive to advise her to consider preparing a supplementary budget came “too late”, it appeared to have done little damage. “I have been paying close attention to the situation in the Middle East from the beginning and thinking about what is the best response to the situation in the Middle East,” Gao Yi retorted.
Gao Shi’s “Private Tutor”
The G7 summit is scheduled to be held in mid-June. The government and the ruling party have set a timetable to pass a supplementary budget in early June ahead of the meeting.
Given that the ruling coalition holds a minority in the Senate, it is prepared to first try to attract small parties to join to ensure the smooth passage of the budget.
Team Mirai is one of the leading candidates for the program. During Wednesday’s debate, Mirai team leader Takahiro Anno told the prime minister he was willing to serve as a “personal mentor if necessary” on the use of artificial intelligence. The senior high school student smiled and said, “No matter what, please do this.”
