Reappointed transport minister Kazuo Kitagawa says motorists will be disgruntled if tax revenue currently earmarked for road construction is shifted to the general budget.
While revenue generated from taxes levied on fuel and cars -- which totaled some 3.5 trillion yen in fiscal 2005 -- has long been used specifically to build and maintain roads, recent cutbacks in public works spending have resulted in a mounting surplus.
As Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has ordered a review of the uses of tax revenue in the special account budgets, the Finance Ministry has started debating whether the road-related money might be used for other purposes -- such as covering social welfare costs.