The central government announced Friday that it will provide subsidies in August and September to reduce electricity and gas bills for an average household by ¥2,125 per month.
The subsidies amount to ¥4 per kilowatt hour of electricity and ¥17.5 per cubic meter of city gas, Industry Minister Ken Saito told a news conference.
This move is aimed at cushioning the impact of rising prices on households in summer when air conditioner use increases.
The government will reduce the subsidy amount in October to ¥2.5 per kWh of electricity and ¥10 per cubic meter of city gas.
Subsidies intended to lower gasoline prices will also remain in place until the end of the year.
“At a time when prices remain high, mainly due to the depreciation of the yen, many people have expressed concern about the severe heat this summer,” Saito said.
Subsidies are “necessary as an immediate measure to help people cope with the intense heat,” he said.
Saito added that these subsidies should not be maintained indefinitely, given the need to reduce carbon emissions.
Until April, the government provided subsidies of ¥3.5 per kWh of electricity and ¥15 per cubic meter of city gas. The subsidies were halved in May and then ended.
At a press conference on June 21, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said his government would restart the subsidy program as part of efforts to combat inflation.
The government expects the subsidy program to reduce consumer inflation by 0.5 percentage points.
