NIPPON




 

Japan's business leaders have offered a mixed response to the government's draft budget for fiscal 2026, which was adopted at a cabinet meeting on Friday.

Yoshinobu Tsutsui, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, the country's biggest organization of employers, said that the draft budget "includes many measures to realize a strong economy," which is a goal set by the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

The Keidanren chairman hailed the draft budget for embodying a direction in which the public and private sectors will collaborate to promote both crisis management investment and growth investment with the aim of boosting potential growth.

Tsutsui also stated that the partial implementation of social security system reforms reflected in the draft budget would curb the rise in insurance premiums for the working generation.

Ken Kobayashi, head of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that the draft budget "involves policies to improve regional earning capabilities, such as providing support for startups and business succession."