Japan Highway Public Corp. recorded an actual decline in expressway toll income for fiscal 2001, the first fall in four years, officials said Tuesday.

According to accounting standards in use until fiscal 2000, toll revenues in fiscal 2001 fell 0.7 percent from the previous year to 1.845 trillion yen, the officials said.

The corporation attributed the decline to the effects of the overall economic slump, which has depressed commercial traffic. The figures could undermine the firm's claims that revenues will grow as it continues to build highways.

They could also provoke further calls for a freeze on pending highway projects until the government devises a way to privatize Japan Highway and three other debt-ridden road-related firms -- Metropolitan Expressway Public Corp., Hanshin Expressway Public Corp. and the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Authority.

A panel tasked with formulating this privatization initiative launched the first round of intensive discussions Tuesday and is aiming to compile an interim report later this month.

The panel, which features representation from the private and academic sectors, was launched by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in June.

According to Japan Highway officials, the corporation will suffer a real decline of 2.3 percent to 232.8 billion yen in revenues from other toll roads.

Under the revised accounting rules currently used by Japan Highway, however, the corporation will now book 1.914 trillion yen in expressway revenues, up 56.2 billion yen from fiscal 2000, and 238 billion yen in other toll road revenues, down 200 million yen, they said.