TOKYO (AFP) — Japan on Tuesday announced an emergency 690-million-dollar package to help the country's fishermen, who have held strikes to protest against soaring fuel costs.
Under the emergency package of 74.5 billion yen (690 million dollars), the government will allocate 14.5 billion yen to directly compensate the losses incurred by higher fuel prices.
The government will allocate another 40 billion yen to buy out fishermen's produce and 20 billion yen in interest-free loans.
Crude prices have doubled over the past two years and risen five-fold since 2003. Japan imports virtually all of its oil.
Oil prices were trading at around 125 dollars a barrel on Tuesday, down from record highs of around 147 reached earlier this month.
Thousands of Japanese fishermen went on a one-day strike in July, keeping their boats idle at port as they warned that soaring oil prices could cripple the industry, a key one in the land of sushi.
The emergency package came in addition to earlier government measures announced to help small firms, fishermen and farmers cope with high oil prices, including easing conditions to secure state-backed loans.
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