Japan opens up highway network to boost economy

Japan began offering about 20%, or more than 1,600 kilometers of its national highway network for free for all vehicles as part of an experiment to stir the economy. The 50 sections on Japan’s 37 different highways will be free until the end of March 2011. Motohiro Suzuki, manager of the planning section at the supply & logistics department of refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co , told reporters that although he hopes the move will boost gasoline demand, he expected there would not be much impact on overall motor fuel consumption. The transport ministry said that the traffic in the 50 free sections increased by 55% in the first nine hours after they were designated free, from the comparable period a week earlier. (June 28, 2010)