In "Leviathan" Thomas Hobbes wrote, "Unnecessary laws are not good laws, but traps for money." These words apply to the tentative law of road construction included in the gasoline tax. The word "temporary" means "semi-permanent" in the crooked world of politics, and this huge budget has snowballed to the benefit of a group of politicians, road builders and minor officials. In addition, government revenues from road-related taxes have been exploited and misused by politicians to win votes, and to finance luxurious massage chairs and leisure tours for employees of government subsidiaries run by ex-government officials.

According to opinion polls, the majority of the general public expects that the special gasoline tax should be incorporated into the general budget and that the spending be duly checked for fair distribution. The Cabinet should listen to the reproving voice of the public and reevaluate its priorities. Otherwise, the Fukuda administration is sure to sink further into the political quagmire.

tetsuo nakagawa