The government will continue measures to keep retail prices of regular gasoline at around ¥170 per liter amid ongoing instability in the Middle East, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Tuesday. Takaichi told reporters that she has instructed industry minister Ryosei Akazawa to consult with Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama to secure necessary funds. As of the end of July, the balance of the fund for gasoline subsidies had fallen to about ¥210 billion.
The government had previously planned to raise the gasoline price target above around ¥170 as part of a review of the subsidy program, aiming to avoid continuing gasoline subsidies indefinitely amid the prolonged turmoil in the Middle East. The government launched gasoline subsidies in January 2022. The subsidy program temporarily ended at the end of December last year with the abolition of the provisional gasoline tax rate but resumed in March this year.
The cumulative cost for gasoline subsidies has swelled to about ¥9 trillion.
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