Overview
- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Monday the government will consider a fiscal 2026 supplementary budget to ease the hit from crude costs tied to the Middle East conflict.
- People familiar with the plan said the package would focus on short-term relief rather than a broad stimulus program.
- The shift follows weeks of denials by Takaichi and Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama in the Diet, even as rising oil costs drained existing relief funds.
- Gasoline subsidies have been in place since mid-March using fiscal 2025 reserve funds, which officials fear will run out soon.
- Opposition leaders plan to press Takaichi in a party leaders' debate on Wednesday over the delay, with Yuichiro Tamaki saying many people are struggling with renewed inflation.