Overview
- Gasoline’s ¥25.1 per liter surcharge ends on December 31, with the ¥17.1 per liter diesel surcharge to follow on April 1, 2026.
- Transition subsidies to wholesalers will expand from November 13, with payments stepping up from the current ¥10 to phase in retail price cuts.
- Forecasts suggest average pump prices could ease toward about ¥160 per liter by year-end if oil markets stay steady, after this week’s reading of ¥173.60 ticked up slightly.
- Parties deferred decisions on replacing roughly ¥1.5 trillion in annual revenue, signaling options like spending cuts, narrowing corporate tax breaks, and higher burdens for top earners while seeking to protect road funding.
- Okinawa’s special relief would shrink from ¥7 to ¥3.8 per liter, pointing to a smaller local price drop, and prefectures including Aichi in the Chubu region are warning of significant revenue losses and seeking compensation.