Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged on Wednesday to ensure low domestic gasoline prices after data from the Ministry of Industry showed that the average retail price rose for the 15th straight week to an all-time high.
A price board at a gas station in Tokyo shows the price of regular gasoline at 186 yen per liter on August 30, 2023. (Kyodo)
Kishida also told reporters that his government will implement new economic measures to mitigate the negative impact of high prices and will also seek to extend the subsidy program for oil wholesalers, which was supposed to taper off by the end of September.
The price of regular gasoline averaged 185.60 yen ($1.3) per liter as of Monday, up 1.90 yen from the previous week and the highest level since comparable data was available in 1990, reflecting higher crude prices and the effects of a weaker yen.
Kishida also said he hopes to see gasoline prices drop to around 175 yen in Japan by the end of October, as the economy faces deflationary risks on the back of rising global commodity prices.
Heeding Kishida’s instructions, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito put forward proposals on Wednesday to extend subsidies to oil wholesalers as well as electricity and gas subsidies beyond September.
Informed sources said that based on the proposals, the government is expected to make efforts to keep gasoline prices below 180 yen for the time being in order to mitigate the effects of higher fuel costs on households and businesses.
![](https://img.kyodonews.net/english/public/images/posts/b58c9353a866c32bc9aee7827451fd07/photo_l.jpg)
A customer fills the tank of his car at a gas station in Tokyo on August 2, 2023. (Kyodo)
Other factors driving the gas price to all-time highs in Japan include recent cuts in oil production by major producers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia.
According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the previous high price for average retail gasoline price was 185.10 yen, which was recorded in August 2008, when energy demand increased on the back of rapid economic growth in China, now the second largest country in the world. Economy.
The average retail price of premium gasoline nationwide on Monday was 196.50 yen per liter, up 1.90 yen from the previous week, while diesel rose 2.00 yen to 165.10 yen per liter. The price of 18 liters, or roughly one tank, of kerosene rose 32 yen to 2,232 yen.
The current government support program to curb price hikes was introduced in January 2022 amid a surge in crude oil ahead of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that began the following month, but the program has been scaled back since January this year.
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