Japan allocates additional $6.73b to energy subsidies

The Japanese government announced on Tuesday that it will allocate an extra 989.15 billion yen ($6.73 billion), from its fiscal 2024 reserve fund, for energy subsidies to support households.

This decision depletes this year’s reserve fund meant for fighting inflation, bringing total state expenses for easing the impact of high prices on households to over 11 trillion yen in the last three years.

The additional funds are intended to help alleviate the rising costs of electricity, city gas, and gasoline this fall, a period when households typically continue to use air conditioning and travel more frequently by car.

Amid a sharp rise in household energy costs globally, the Japanese government introduced a subsidy programme for gasoline in 2022, followed by similar measures for electricity and gas in 2023.

In response to severe summer heat, the government decided in June to reinstate its subsidy programme for electricity and gas bills between August and October after initially terminating it in May.

Attribution: Xinhua

Subediting: M. S. Salama