April 8, 2026

A record-high budget of over 122 trillion yen for fiscal 2026 was approved and enacted on April 7 in the House of Councillors plenary session with the majority vote of the ruling Liberal Democratic and “Ishin no Kai” parties along with several independent lawmakers.

Major opposition parties, including the Japanese Communist Party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Democratic Party for the People, the “Komeito” party, and the Social Democratic Party, voted against the budget.

Earlier on the day at an Upper House Budget Committee meeting, JCP lawmaker Shirakawa Yoko used her question time to oppose the budget bill.

Shirakawa criticized the government-proposed budget for imposing heavier burdens on the general public in order to fund a massive military buildup, which she said is totally unacceptable.

Shirakawa as an example cited the introduction of a “special defense income tax”, an increase in the high-cost medical care co-payment cap, higher out-of-pocket costs for OTC-like drugs, and a surcharge on public health insurance premiums under the guise of “child-rearing support”.

Shirakawa pointed out that with the rise in oil and commodity prices triggered by the U.S.-Israeli war of aggression against Iran, the general public and smaller business operators are facing economic hardships. She said that despite its vast size, the budget is ineffective in coping with this situation. She demanded that the government at the very least decide to lower the consumption tax rate to 5% across the board without delay. She also urged the government to provide financial support to medical institutions affected by the “naphtha crisis” emerging from the U.S.-Israeli war of aggression against Iran.

Furthermore, Shirakawa demanded that the government increase its spending on small- and mid-sized enterprises, which includes financial assistance to SMEs aimed at a substantial raise in minimum hourly wages. The JCP lawmaker also demanded the withdrawal of the huge amount of financial support for large corporations as well as the policy to provide 87 trillion yen in investments to the U.S.

Past related articles:
> Tax hikes for military buildup begin [March 10, 2026]
> JCP Daimon: Japan’s 550-billion-dollar investment in US may impose burden on general public [September 13, 2025]
> JCP promises to work hard to scrap gov’t plan to increase patients’ share in high-cost medical expenses [March 13, 2025]