Editorial
New highway toll system stuck in neutral due to DPJ intra-party antagonism
The June launch of the newly proposed highway toll system will be postponed, due to a delay in Diet deliberations about the issue that was to be a precondition of the system's implementation.
With procedures such as the solicitation of public comments yet to be undertaken, if the Diet does not reach a decision within this month, implementation of the new toll in June will be impossible. The end is nowhere in sight. Although free tolls will be introduced on some roads on an experimental basis as planned, Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Seiji Maehara has otherwise been forced to postpone the new system.
According to the new highway toll system developed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the discounted maximum toll of 1,000 yen on weekends and public holidays will be scrapped, replaced by a toll cap of 2,000 yen for standard-sized cars (1,000 yen for eco-cars and mini vehicles) regardless of holidays or day of the week, or the distance traveled.
The plan would eliminate other discounts, such as those that are time-specific. In effect, the new system would indicate a toll hike for some drivers whose travel does not reach the new cap.
Objections were raised by those within the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) against the raising of highway tolls despite the party's vow to make tolls free, including calls for a revision by DPJ Secretary-General Ichiro Ozawa. Heads of government and the party held a meeting and decided that the ministry proposal would undergo review.
While Maehara rejected the request for a revision, the issue was settled for the time being by leaving open the possibility of making changes through Diet deliberations. That brings us up to the end of April.
However, there had been earlier developments. At the end of last year, Ozawa requested that part of the funds set aside for toll discounts be funneled to the construction of roads, and a bill to allow this was submitted to the Diet.
Maehara probably planned to use this bill to arrive at a resolution. His expectations were that the bill would be deliberated in the Diet, and a comprise reflecting the opinions expressed in Diet deliberations would ultimately be reached. However, with no discussion on the issue expected to begin any time soon, time is running out.
Some DPJ members may be hoping that avoiding a toll hike would work to their advantage in this summer's House of Councillors election. But they must not forget that there is a limit to the funds earmarked for toll discounts.
Funds that are constantly available for use are those that highway corporations have squeezed out through cost reduction measures. There is a limited time frame for other sources of funding on which discounts depend. Funding for the current 1,000-yen cap for weekends and holidays, for example, will disappear by the end of this fiscal year.
The highway problem has been characterized as the manifestation of bad blood between Ozawa and Maehara, and some frame it as a pro-Ozawa vs. anti-Ozawa battle within the DPJ. Regardless, we can't have our highway toll system in limbo because of some intra-party antagonism.
Highway tolls have a great impact on the public's lives, including how railroads and other forms of public transportation are run. The government must look forward, beyond the next fiscal year, and make a prompt decision about the country's highway toll system.
(Mainichi Japan) May 19, 2010