LDP, Nippon Ishin, Komeito Agree to Increase Gasoline Subsidies

Tokyo, Oct. 22 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its new coalition partner, Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), and the previous partner, Komeito, agreed Wednesday to increase subsidies to lower retail gasoline prices. The agreement, reached at a meeting of the three parties’ tax panel chairs on the day, calls for increasing the subsidies in stages from the current 10 yen per liter to 25.1 yen to offset the provisional gasoline tax surcharge. The three parties aim to reach an agreement with other parties on the matter by early next month. The subsidy increase is expected to last until the gasoline tax surcharge is abolished. In July, the three parties and three others–the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Democratic Party for the People and the Japanese Communist Party–agreed to abolish the gasoline tax surcharge by the end of the year. The coalition agreement between the LDP and Nippon Ishin calls for the passage of a bill for the abolition by the Dec. 17 end of the ongoing extraordinary Diet session. The provisional tax surcharge on the diesel oil delivery tax, which is 17.1 yen per liter, is expected to be treated in the same way. Meanwhile, the central government will take measures to help local governments cope with falls in gasoline and diesel tax revenues, which are estimated to total about 1.5 trillion yen per year. Regarding ways to finance the abolition of the tax surcharges, LDP policy head Itsunori Onodera said that many ideas will be discussed in further talks. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]