Approval of the 81.79 trillion yen fiscal 2003 budget package by the Lower House Budget Committee -- with little deviation from the ruling coalition's schedule -- should spell one victory for the administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
However, deliberations on the budget, the first key topic in the 150-day regular Diet session that runs through June, have so far only revealed the vulnerability of the Koizumi Cabinet, Diet watchers say.
Since the legislative session began in January, three key Cabinet ministers have become mired in serious -- if not ruinous -- scandals, providing ammunition not just to the opposition camp but also Koizumi's opponents within the ruling coalition to take the offensive.