TOKYO (Reuters) -- Japan's ruling coalition agreed on Wednesday with four major opposition parties to abolish a provisional gasoline tax as soon as possible this year, as it gave in to opposition pressure following a major election defeat.
In a joint statement, the Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition and opposition parties said an extraordinary session of parliament opening on Friday would discuss the steps needed to abolish the temporary tax.
Japan introduced the additional gasoline tax in the 1970s as a temporary step to fund road building and maintenance.
Since 1979, 25.1 yen per liter has been added to the base gasoline tax of 28.7 yen, for a total rate of 53.8 yen per liter.
The opposition parties have demanded its removal to help ease the pain of rising inflation on households.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's grip on power was further weakened by a defeat for his ruling coalition this month in upper house elections. The coalition had lost its lower house majority last October.
