Average Pump Price Up for 14th Week in a Row

Jiji Press

11:55 JST, August 24, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Retail prices of regular gasoline in Japan averaged ¥183.7 per liter as of Monday, up ¥1.8 from a week before and increasing for the 14th consecutive week, the industry ministry said Wednesday.

The pump price neared the record high of ¥185.1, due to high crude oil prices, the weak yen and the Japanese government’s downscaling of subsidies aimed at curbing gasoline prices.

Among Japan’s prefectures, the highest average price was in Nagano Prefecture, at ¥192.3.

The current budget measure for the government subsidies is set to end at the end of next month.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed his government to consider measures to deal with the rising prices of fuels, including gasoline. “We will draw up a final plan by the end of this month, so that the public can feel its effects from early September,” he told reporters.

The government started providing the subsidies in January last year and has repeatedly extended the measure, spending some ¥6 trillion on it so far.