Tokyo, Oct. 29 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Thursday that her government will resume subsidies in December to help lower electricity and gas bills during the colder months, as part of the fight against the rising cost of living. Speaking to reporters at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo, Takaichi explained that the subsidies will be offered until February and are “expected to reduce the (financial) burden (on households) by about 7,000 yen in the three-month period.” The wintertime subsidies will start a month earlier than last season. The government will provide 1.0 yen per kilowatt-hour for December and 4.5 yen for January and February. “We’ll consider what to do for March, after assessing weather conditions and energy prices,” the prime minister noted. Meanwhile, Takaichi indicated that the government will gradually scale back on gasoline subsidies by raising the reference price of 170 yen per liter by 5 yen each month from December. Currently, the government is spending over 10 billion yen of taxpayers’ money per day to suppress gasoline prices. It hopes to gradually phase out the subsidy program and shift to a more sustainable scheme. “We’ll closely monitor crude oil prices, while considering their impact on people’s daily lives and economic activities,” Takaichi said. In order to continue providing the gasoline subsidies for the time being, the prime minister instructed her government to increase reserve funds for measures to tackle the fallout from the Middle East situation. The government has contributed a total of 9.6 trillion yen to these funds, including about 1.4 trillion yen under the Takaichi administration. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
