The Japanese government is considering a supplementary budget for fiscal 2026 to mitigate the impact of elevated crude oil prices stemming from the Middle East conflict, government sources said Thursday, News.Az reports, citing Kyodo.
The government has already set aside 1 trillion yen ($6.3 billion), including reserve funds in the fiscal 2025 budget, to finance measures aimed at easing the burden on households facing rising living costs. These include subsidies to keep gasoline prices at around 170 yen per liter since March.
However, there are growing calls from both ruling and opposition parties for an additional budget, amid concerns that existing funds for these measures could be depleted. The government is also considering resuming subsidies for electricity and gas bills this summer.
With the future course of the Middle East crisis remaining uncertain, crude oil prices are staying high, adding inflationary pressure to gasoline and utility costs.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has repeatedly said that, for now, she does not see the need for a supplementary budget, citing the availability of reserve funds.
However, the funds allocated for gasoline subsidies had fallen to around 980 billion yen by the end of April, while hundreds of billions of yen are expected to be spent each month.
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