Overview
- Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he received a grand-jury subpoena tied to his prior congressional testimony and condemned the inquiry as political pressure, as foreign central bank leaders publicly backed the Fed’s independence.
- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has begun coordinating to tell Liberal Democratic Party leaders today that she intends to dissolve the lower house at the opening of the ordinary Diet session.
- The decision-making was tightly held under the prime minister’s office with limited consultation, leaving friction inside the ruling party according to Japanese reporting.
- If dissolution occurs at the session’s start, the initial fiscal 2026 budget is unlikely to pass within the current fiscal year, prompting consideration of Japan’s first provisional budget in 11 years.
- Keidanren’s chair criticized China’s tightened controls on dual‑use exports to Japan as “extremely regrettable” and signaled a push for dialogue, while U.S. media reported six Minnesota federal prosecutors resigned over an ICE fatal‑shooting case.