Across Asia: Japan

PM insists on gas tax

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, facing a fight for his job as he struggles with a deadlocked parliament, sought public support yesterday for reviving an unpopular gasoline tax due to expire at midnight.

In the latest sign of policy paralysis that has already prevented the appointment of a new central bank head, the government failed to reach a deal on the tax with opposition parties that control parliament's upper house.