Japan issued a warning yesterday against stockpiling gasoline at home as motorists lined up at the pumps after a special fuel tax expired due to deadlock in parliament.
While many car owners are happy to see cheaper gasoline prices, gas station managers were left fuming after the opposition blocked an extension of the surcharge, which raises money for road projects.
Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency even issued a warning to consumers not to stockpile gasoline at home because it could cause an explosion.
Motorists flocked to those stations that passed on the ¥25 (US$0.25) per liter tax break, which expired on Monday.
"I don't have to hold off buying gasoline anymore. The cheaper, the better -- even by ¥1 or ¥2," said 40-year-old Megumi Tanaka who was waiting in a long line outside one Tokyo gas station.
But many stations said they needed to use up current stocks before passing on the benefits to consumers.
"We have to sell our inventory first before cutting gasoline prices, or we will incur losses," said Joji Kawakami, a manager at a gas station in the Shinjuku ward of the central Tokyo.
"The current political stalemate is really annoying for us, because it's hard to explain to our customers" what will happen to prices in the future, he said.
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda apologized to voters on Monday for failing to persuade the opposition to support an extension of the gasoline tax.
He said that dropping the special surcharge would leave a ¥2.6 trillion hole in public finances.
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