Japan to continue collecting expressway tolls until 2115

Highway traffic is seen past buildings in Tokyo on Aug 15, 2016. (TORU YAMANAKA / AFP)

TOKYO — Japan's government plans to extend the toll collection period for the country's expressways by 50 years until 2115, in a bid to secure funds for expressway renovation work, local media has reported.

The transport ministry will submit related legislation during an ordinary session of the Diet, the country's parliament, to be convened later this month, according to Japan's Asahi Shimbun on Monday.

An expert panel set up by the ministry is now calling for another extension, citing a lack of funds to repair or replace aging infrastructure

Traffic volume across Japan is expected to decrease as the population shrinks. Therefore, the period for collecting tolls should be prolonged, said the report quoting a senior ministry official.

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An expert panel set up by the ministry is now calling for another extension, citing a lack of funds to repair or replace aging infrastructure, it added.

When Japan Highway Public Corp. was split up and privatized in 2005, the Japanese government decided to collect tolls until 2050 to repay debts for the construction costs and to make the expressways toll-free afterward.

However, the 2012 tunnel accident on the Chuo Expressway in Yamanashi Prefecture in which a ceiling collapse killed nine people prompted the government to extend the tolling period to 2065 to fund measures to deal with aging expressway facilities.