The island nation said it had started to release another part of its strategic oil reserves as it looks to temper the impact on the resource-poor nation from the surge in prices caused by the Middle East conflict.
Japan is the fifth-biggest importer of oil, with more than 90% of it from the Middle East.
Top government spokesman Minoru Kihara said he was aware that the “transfer of oil from half of the reserve stations to four oil refining companies” was scheduled to start yesterday.
The move comes after Tokyo said this week it would release a month’s worth of government stockpiles, as officials started releasing 15 days’ worth of private-sector petroleum reserves.
As of Wednesday, 45 Japan-related vessels were stuck in the Persian Gulf after Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, including 24 Japanese crew members, according to the Transport Ministry.
Japanese Shipowners’ Association president Hitoshi Nagasawa told reporters on Wednesday it was “strongly asking the government” to help reopen passage through the Strait of Hormuz, JSA president Hitoshi Nagasawa told reporters on Wednesday.
Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said this week that the waterway was “closed only to enemies”.
That came after Iran told the International Maritime Organization that “non-hostile vessels” could transit the Strait of Hormuz if they met safety and security regulations. — AFP
