Photo/Illutration Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, at a news conference on Dec. 9 (Takeshi Iwashita)

The opposition Democratic Party for the People will likely support the government’s proposed 18.3-trillion-yen ($117-billion) supplementary budget for fiscal 2025, ensuring passage of a major economic stimulus package, a source said.

With the DPP on board, the budget bill will probably be passed during the extraordinary Diet session, which closes on Dec 17.

The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) holds a majority in the Lower House but falls short in the Upper House.

The administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has been seeking the DPP’s cooperation to secure passage of the bill.

According to a DPP source, the party discussed its response to the supplementary budget bill at an internal meeting on Dec. 9.

DPP members generally supported the budget proposal and agreed to entrust the final decision to party leader Yuichiro Tamaki and policy chief Makoto Hamaguchi, the source said.

No objections to the draft budget were raised.

Tamaki, who will take the floor at the Lower House Budget Committee on Dec. 10, is expected to base his decision on Takaichi’s responses to his questions, among other considerations.

The supplementary budget bill underpins the government’s comprehensive package of economic measures, which entails 17.7 trillion yen in general account expenditures, the largest since the novel coronavirus pandemic. 

At a news conference on Dec. 9, Tamaki spoke favorably of the draft budget for incorporating some of the DPP’s proposals, such as abolishing the gasoline tax surcharge and changing the government’s accounting method about compulsory automobile liability insurance.

“It would be contradictory to reject policies we have long called for,” Tamaki said, signaling a positive stance toward voting in favor.

Going forward, the DPP plans to press for the government and ruling parties to include measures to further raise the income tax threshold in the fiscal 2026 tax reform outline.

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