May 19, 2026

Partially accepting Japanese Communist Party-proposed measures, Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae on May 18 announced that the government will compile a supplementary budget for fiscal 2026.

On May 14, the JCP submitted to PM Takaichi a 5-pillar proposal for emergency measures to protect people’s livelihoods from the negative effects of the Iran War. The first measure outlined in the proposal is to “compile a supplementary budget immediately to protect people’s livelihoods from the skyrocketing cost of living and implement bold measures without delay.”

At a press conference in the Diet building, JCP Secretariat Head Koike Akira demanded that the budget be compiled “as soon as possible” in response to PM Takaichi’s instruction to draft a supplementary budget.

Koike stated that the budget should include a temporary increase in public assistance payments, child support allowances, and pensions. He added that it should also include measures to address the growing burden of mortgage and student loan repayments resulting from rising long-term interest rates.

The JCP official noted that procurement costs in sectors such as healthcare, food production, transportation and logistics, and construction are soaring. He stressed the need “to temporarily raise the state remuneration for medical and nursing-care institutions’ services and provide financial support for struggling SMEs in the form of interest-free, unsecured loans.” Koike also stated that the government is responsible for securing crude oil and petroleum products.