Takaichi says electricity and gas subsidies will resume in December

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 ($44) in the three-month period.”

The wintertime subsidies will start a month earlier than last season. The government will provide ¥1 per kilowatt-hour for December and ¥4.5 for January and February.

“We’ll consider what to do for March, after assessing weather conditions and energy prices,” the prime minister noted.

Takaichi also indicated that the government will gradually scale back gasoline subsidies by raising the reference price of ¥170 per liter by ¥5 each month from December.

Currently, the government is spending over ¥10 billion of taxpayers’ money per day to suppress gasoline prices. It hopes to gradually phase out the subsidy program and shift to a more sustainable plan.

“We’ll closely monitor crude oil prices, while considering their impact on people’s daily lives and economic activities,” Takaichi said.

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 to these funds, including about ¥1.4 trillion under the Takaichi administration.