Japan mulls tapping 500 bil. yen for summer electricity, gas subsidies

TOKYO - Japan is mulling tapping some 500 billion yen ($3.1 billion) in reserve funds to subsidize household electricity and gas bills in the high-demand summer period, a government source said Thursday.

The source said the government is preparing to spend significantly more per household than it did on the subsidies in the July to September period last year, as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz in the ongoing Middle East crisis is expected to lead to higher utility prices in resource-poor Japan.