Japan petrol prices hit record level

Japan’s average retail petrol price has reached a record JPY190.80 ($1.19) per litre, reflecting higher crude costs linked to the Iran conflict, according to data released on March 18 by the nation’s industry ministry.

According to Japan’s Kyodo News, the average price as of March 16 rose by JPY29.0 from March 9. This matches the largest ever weekly increase since comparable records began in Japan in 1990, and in the process marked a fifth consecutive weekly gain. The figure also surpasses the previous peak of JPY186.50 recorded in April 2025, when an extended period of yen weakness drove up import costs.

The increase comes ahead of the resumption of government subsidies aimed at keeping petrol prices at around the JPY170 per litre mark. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, due to meet US President Donald Trump later on March 19, announced the measure last week, citing the risk of prices exceeding JPY200 and confirming the use of public funds to try and limit this.

The ministry also said subsidies of JPY30.20 per litre will be provided to petroleum suppliers for the week starting March 19, with the effect expected to feed through to retail prices after around one week, Kyodo added. Officials indicated prices are expected to decline gradually towards JPY170.

The subsidies are being reinstated less than three months after they ended on December 31, 2025, which coincided with the abolition of Japan’s provisional petrol tax of JPY25.10 per litre after more than 50 years. Following the removal of the tax, petrol prices gradually fell to around JPY154.70 in mid-January 2026, the lowest level in approximately four and a half years.