GOVERNMENT WILL END ¥900 SUBSIDY ON MANDATORY MOTOR COVER

The Japanese government will use this year’s reduction in mandatory motor insurance rates to eliminate its nominal ¥900 subsidy of each policy, according to a report from Kyodo News in Japan Today . A government announcement confirmed previous reports that compulsory liability premiums would fall by an average of 24.7%, with a two-year policy on a private-use car falling ¥9,260 ($86.30) to ¥22,470. It was also announced that from the beginning of the financial year 2008-09, which starts in Japan on April 1, the government would stop paying the ¥900 subsidy.