INTERVIEW: No Year-End Gasoline Price Plunge Due to Tax Cut

Tokyo, Dec. 12 (Jiji Press)–Petroleum Association of Japan President Shunichi Kito has warned against a misconception that gasoline prices will plummet due to the year-end abolition of the provisional gasoline tax surcharge. There has been “no turmoil” during the phased increase in subsidies to stabilize retail gasoline prices that started last month, Kito, also president of oil distributor Idemitsu Kosan Co., said in a recent interview with Jiji Press. The final phase, implemented Thursday, boosted the subsidy to 25.1 yen per liter, the same as the surcharge. The increase is expected to be reflected in retail prices in about a week. “Some people think that gasoline prices will nosedive on Dec. 31,” when the surcharge will be scrapped, Kito said, emphasizing that the association is giving the public explanations on the correct situation including through social media. Some consumers are refraining from buying gasoline in anticipation of lower prices, but problems such as unstable store inventories are not widely seen, Kito also said. Kito expressed gratitude for the abolition, which the association had been seeking for a long time. “We’ve kept saying that the surcharge (which puts a heavy burden on gasoline users) is inappropriate in terms of tax fairness, especially when vehicles running on electricity and hydrogen are increasing,” he said. The number of gas stations across the country has more than halved over the past 30 years. “It’s important to stop any further decrease in the national network,” Kito said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]