Global oil price slide undercuts Kuroda's inflation efforts

Tokyo

WHEN a country imports almost all its energy, a slide in oil prices to a four-year low should be helpful - cutting costs for companies and households. For Japan, it may not be so simple.

Japan's reliance on fossil-fuel imports has deepened since Japan shuttered its nuclear-power industry following the March 2011 Fukushima meltdowns. With the price of benchmark Dubai crude oil down more than a third from a June peak, that ought to mean more disposable cash for households who have been hit by an April sales-tax increase.