Japan's gas price at 15-yr high, as gov't mulls steps to curb rise

The average retail gasoline price in Japan has risen for the 14th consecutive week to climb to a new 15-year high, industry ministry data showed Wednesday, a day after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ordered the ruling party to prepare more measures to alleviate the impact of high fuel costs. The average price for regular gasoline stood at 183.70 yen ($1.26) per liter as of Monday, advancing 1.80 yen from a week earlier and hitting its highest level since August 2008, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The current government subsidy program to curb price hikes -- introduced...