Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday spent the little time he has left to pass the fiscal 2025 budget before the end of the month apologizing for earlier remarks about rolling out an anti-inflation package, which have drawn criticism from the opposition and within his own coalition.
The remarks came to light when Komeito chief Tetsuo Saito told reporters on Tuesday that the prime minister plans to draft an economic package to counter rising prices, including those of rice, and abolish a provisional gasoline tax to ease pump prices.
“(Ishiba) talked about launching robust measures to combat price hikes,” Saito told reporters after he met with the prime minister. “My understanding is that he wants to swiftly introduce these measures after the next fiscal year’s budget passes.”
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