Never Ending Road Construction in Japan

At this time of the year there is nowhere you can go in Japan by car that you don't get interrupted by road construction.

There is always a push to start what you can't finish, dig where you can't fill in, or rip up what you aren't prepared to fill in just so you can be sure to use all the money alloted for road construction.

My first couple of years in Japan, I couldn't figure out why all of a sudden road construction went nuts in December. My taxi-driver father-in-law explained that companies have to use up their allotments from the government or not get the same amount the following year.

One wonders why those companies didn't pace themselves throughout the year.

That may change.

PM Abe is looking for a wider use of the gasoline tax and is planning to fight for it.

80% of the 3 trillion yen ($25+ billion) collected goes to construction and maintenance.

PM Abe wants to use some of that money for general purposes.

The fight hasn't even started yet. And, it doesn't really make any difference to me now. It's December. Road construction is still happening. But I am not in Japan anymore.

What do you think?