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Emergency Ministerial Meeting on the Surge in Prices of Crude Oil and Other Goods Thursday, June 26, 2008 JAPANESE

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda held an Emergency Ministerial Meeting on the Surge in Prices of Crude Oil and Other Goods, composed of all Cabinet members, at the Prime Minister's Office. At the meeting, the Ministers decided on Emergency Measures for the Surge in the Crude Oil Price, in accordance with the ruling parties' proposal. Emergency measures stipulated include efforts for stabilizing the international oil market, measures for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), sector-specific measures, support for the people living in remote islands and other regions, measures to support the people's lives, and structural shifts such as energy saving and use of renewable energy. Prime Minister Fukuda said, "I will urge the leaders gathering together at the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit next month to join efforts for stabilizing the international oil market. On the domestic front, we are faced with various negative impacts of the crude oil price remaining high, which require an immediate response. The issue is now affecting various sectors including fisheries, agriculture and forestry, and the transportation industry, and is aggravating the profitability and cash position of SMEs in particular. Looking at the regions, we see extremely difficult situations prevailing in remote islands. To respond to such situations, today we compiled these emergency measures based on the ruling parties' proposal. I ask each of the Ministers to make special efforts to ensure that these measures will have immediate effect."