Japan's Gas Price Soars To 15-Year High

The average retail gasoline price in Japan has risen for the 14th consecutive week to climb to a 15-year high, industry ministry data showed, a day after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ordered the ruling party to prepare more measures to alleviate the impact of high fuel costs, Kyodo News reported.

The current government subsidy program to curb price hikes has been scaling down since January this year, contributing to the recent elevation of gas prices. I Photo: ENEOS Corporation

The average price for regular gasoline stood at 183.70 yen ($1.26) per liter as of Monday, advancing 1.80 yen from a week earlier and hitting its highest level since August 2008, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The current government subsidy program to curb price hikes -- introduced in January 2022 amid a surge in crude oil just ahead of Russia's war in Ukraine -- has been scaling down since January this year, contributing to the recent elevation of gas prices.

With the subsidy program set to conclude at the end of September, Kishida met with the Liberal Democratic Party's policy chief Koichi Hagiuda on Tuesday and instructed the ruling party to formulate measures to ease the impact of the high price by the end of this month.

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