TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's ruling bloc and an opposition party agreed Friday to relax the rule on deductions for taxpayers with dependents who earn income, with details to be discussed at their meeting next week, lawmakers said.

People with dependents aged 19 to 22 who have a job, such as a parent of a college student with a part-time job, are currently eligible for an income tax deduction if their dependents earn 1.03 million yen ($6,900) or less a year.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party, its junior coalition partner Komeito, and the Democratic Party for the People, which is open to a policy-by-policy linkup with the ruling camp, have been in talks to raise the 1.03 million yen income cap.

Expanding the deduction is part of the tax reforms sought by the DPP, a small opposition party willing to cooperate with the ruling coalition, which lost its majority in the powerful House of Representatives in October's general election.

The DPP quadrupled its lower house seats in the election with a platform to boost people's disposable incomes.

As for other reforms demanded by the DPP, the three parties also continued discussions on raising the income tax exemption threshold from 1.03 million yen for part-time workers, aiming at incentivizing them to work longer hours amid Japan's labor shortage.

The DPP wants the nontaxable level to be raised to 1.78 million yen starting next year to reflect rising minimum wages.

The ruling camp is considering launching the scheme in 2026 with an unspecified threshold target, citing time needed for the legislative process, according to officials who attended the meeting.

LDP tax policy chief Yoichi Miyazawa said that the ruling bloc has yet to reach common ground with the DPP, telling reporters after the talks, "There are difficult technical hurdles that need to be resolved."