Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- The Cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda approved a plan to subsidize heating oil for people on low incomes or who live in colder areas, part of a package of proposed relief measures to cope with high oil prices.

``We must alleviate the burden of petroleum prices on Japan's economy,'' Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Hiroko Ota said. The Cabinet will meet again by the end of the year to work out specifics of the subsidies, she said.

Along with the kerosene subsidies, the state will help companies in industries including construction, agriculture, forestry and trucking, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said today at a regular news conference.

Japan also will speed up efforts to shift away from oil to renewable energy, Machimura said.

``The prime minister directed all ministers to implement the relief measures because concerns have grown in this severe winter season,'' Machimura said.

Prices at the pump for regular gasoline averaged 154.9 yen a liter on Dec. 3, according the Oil Information Center. That's the highest since the center started tracking prices in April 1987.

Average kerosene price climbed to an all-time high of 1,735 yen per 18-liter container last week.

Crude oil futures reached a record $99.29 a barrel on Nov. 21 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest since trading began in 1983.

Japan's meteorological agency forecasts average winter temperatures for the three months through February.

To contact the reporters on this story: Toru Fujioka in Tokyo at tfujioka1@bloomberg.net; Shigeru Sato in Tokyo at Ssato10@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 10, 2007 22:45 EST