With budget allocations having cleared the Diet earlier this week, passage of the child allowance bill Friday was a stroll in the park for the Democratic Party of Japan-led coalition.
Making things all the easier was the endorsement of opposition parties, most notably New Komeito, which has been shaping an amicable relationship with the DPJ.
"Policies for children are something New Komeito has been working very hard on," Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, the DPJ president, said earlier this month, after the two parties met over the child allowance bill.