Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has announced that Japan will this week commence the largest drawdown of strategic oil reserves in the nation’s history, releasing approximately 80 million barrels to domestic refiners. The decision follows growing alarm that the US-Israel war on Iran will keep disrupting oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz for an extended period. Japan, which imports the vast majority of its crude from the Middle East, has moved decisively to protect its energy security.
The release is historically significant in both its scale and context. It exceeds by 1.8 times the reserve deployment that followed the 2011 Fukushima disaster, which remains Japan’s worst energy emergency in modern memory. With Japan’s total reserves standing at 470 million barrels — covering roughly 254 days of national consumption — the government is drawing on a formidable buffer built up over decades of careful energy planning.
Private-sector reserve releases of 15 days’ worth of supply had already been approved by the government last week, and the new state reserve release adds another 30 days, bringing the combined total to 45 days. This layered response reflects a coordinated effort between the public and private sectors to manage the disruption. Together, these measures represent a robust short-term stabilization of Japan’s oil supply.
Retail gasoline prices have been a major concern, having recently surged to a record ¥190.8 per litre. The government’s new subsidy regime will hold prices to approximately ¥170 per litre, reviewed weekly to reflect changes in market conditions. The price intervention is designed to prevent the energy shock from cascading into broader inflation that could weigh on consumer spending and economic growth.
Internationally, Takaichi has maintained a cautious but engaged posture, rejecting Trump’s request for Japanese naval involvement in the Hormuz region while pledging robust diplomatic efforts in coordination with allied countries. Japan’s decades-old constitutional constraints on military deployment overseas continue to define its options in global security crises. Nonetheless, Tokyo is clearly determined to protect its national interests through every available non-military means.