There has been a temporary 30 yen (roughly 25 cents)/liter consumption tax on gas in Japan for the last thirty years.  Don't you love the loose application of temporary?  But such a loose interpretation will not lose and election for your.  Having the public find out that the majority of that tax which is supposed to be used for road improvement has mainly been used for massage chairs, tennis courts, unbelievably stupid graft projects like plays or paper projects to promote useless roads or parking areas they built and that no one uses might not lose you the election.  This situation has been in the news stories on all the channels for weeks.

For a brief shining moment that tax was rescinded in April because the lower house which is controlled by the opposition refused to support the renewal of the tax.

What will lose the next election for the Liberal Democratic Party is the fact that they forced the tax back through the Lower House which they control (even though it was rejected through the Upper House,which they don't control).  The tax took effect the beginning of May which was just in time for one of the largest National Holiday periods of the country.  Lot's of people drive at this time to see their family or relatives in other places.  The roads are slow and the trains are packed.

People are really ticked off.  It's pretty hard for people to care when the government cries that they need that revenue.  If they really needed it, perhaps they shouldn't have wasted it.  As far as people understand, it's only need to keep lining the pockets of officials, patronage and folly.  And to raise it is just before the holiday is really icing on the cake.

The LDP has already lost a local election (Yamaguchi) which people are attributing as a message to the LDP regarding the gas tax and a reduction of old age pensions.  I hope people are able to keep this in mind when the next election rolls around.  I hope the opposition is able to put together a clear platform and a strong candidate.