EDITORIAL: Expressway toll cuts

Prime Minister Naoto Kan's administration has firmed up its policy for new expressway tolls from this spring. This includes a cap on weekday fares at 2,000 yen ($24) per trip, an expansion of toll-free stretches of highway, and other moves that will collectively mean lower overall rates.

But this alleged "rate reduction" is no reason to rejoice. It will put a major strain on people's lives because of greater congestion on expressways, and the proposed cuts clearly cannot be sustained for long.

Though the cuts might initially appear pleasing to expressway users, the policy is fraught with problems. Encouraging drivers to make greater use of expressways will inevitably cause congestion and greenhouse gas emissions. It will impede traffic and the distribution of goods. There are also fears that this will harm regional railways, ferries and other public transportation networks.

The biggest issue, though, is the unlikelihood of the rate reductions being sustained for very long. Will it be possible to continue to fund the maintenance and expansion of this system every year? This is hardly a policy befitting the Kan government, which has its sights set on rebuilding the nation's finances. This pet project should be junked.

The elimination of expressway tolls is a centerpiece of Kan's ruling Democratic Party of Japan policy platform. It first appeared in the party's election manifesto during its time in opposition. It is therefore understandable that the DPJ is loath to jettison the reform at the drop of a hat.

However, the time is ripe to reassess the pledge. A plan to inject 1.3 trillion yen of tax revenues in fiscal 2012 to eliminate tolls in principle was outlined in the party's manifesto for the 2009 Lower House election. Today, it is obvious that there is no hope of realizing that promise.

Despite this, the Kan administration proposes to continue the "social experiment" of moving to toll-free expressways into the next fiscal year. Toll-free routes are to be expanded, and 120 billion yen has been budgeted for the policy, up 20 billion yen from the previous year. It is difficult to see what objective is in sight.

The 1,000-yen limit on expressway charges on weekends and national holidays was introduced by the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito coalition. It was set to expire at the end of next month, but it is set to be retained and extended with the DPJ's 2,000-yen weekday maximum.

How is such a lavish policy feasible? The sleight of hand at work is actually pretty obvious. In 2008, the LDP-New Komeito alliance diverted a decade's worth of revenue sources to bankroll discounts on late-night expressway use and other programs. The current administration intends to divert the remaining 2 trillion yen or so of that money to this program, which will exhaust the funds in two to three years.

This is little more than a stunt aimed at grabbing immediate popularity, while shirking longer-term responsibilities. It can be compared to bolting from a restaurant without paying for the meal. It is nothing more than a "spend-and-run" tactic.

Looking ahead, failure to find additional revenue sources will necessitate another toll hike. That is a sure recipe for confusion among the driving public and the regional businesses that use these routes commercially.

A strategy that continues to stray off course, and which has already slammed the brakes on any prospect of sustaining the very system itself, can hardly be labeled a viable policy. With the prospects for the government's budget bill already poor, this is no way to enlist the support of the public so desperately needed by Kan and his party at this time. Without revamping this policy into something that can be explained logically to the people, the doubts and resistance will never be extinguished.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 16