The first Kōichi cabinet collectively resigned at an emergency cabinet meeting on the 18th.

The 221st special session of the Diet convened that day to hold the election of the prime minister. At 64 years old, Kōchi Hayato concurrently served as the president of the Liberal Democratic Party, and her reappointment was not a surprise. In the afternoon's general assembly of the House of Representatives, she was elected as the 105th prime minister.

All procedures were routine. After the prime minister's appointment ceremony and the certification of ministers held at the palace, the second Kōchi cabinet would take a group photo on the steps that evening. All ministers would remain in their positions unchanged. A press conference was held at the official residence, introducing the so-called "responsible proactive fiscal policy" advocated during the House of Representatives election,

Kōchi said on the 17th: "I will humbly accept the expectations placed by the voters and feel deeply the weight of responsibility," therefore it is necessary to quickly pass the budget bill for the fiscal year 2026 starting from April this year and related bills within the 2025 fiscal year ending in March this year.

Kōchi announced the dissolution of the House of Representatives for early elections in January. The Japanese Diet has clearly lagged in reviewing the government's proposed budget for the 2026 fiscal year.

After a major victory in the House of Representatives election, she forcefully pushed forward the budget bill, and related bills on tax reforms such as the food consumption tax, and explored the implementation strategies of policies such as establishing a "National Intelligence Council", aiming to strengthen intelligence activities.

However, Shigehiro Saito, the head of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party's Senate Committee on the Diet, stated that the ruling coalition, which holds an absolute majority, forcing through the budget bill within a month was equivalent to "a suicide act of the Diet." The idea of passing the 2026 fiscal year budget bill within the 2025 fiscal year was unrealistic and was a step towards "brutal and savage governance."

Prime Minister Election

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1857426513283139/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.