Japan PM Takaichi Complains about Media Reports

Tokyo, April 5 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Sunday denied a reported naphtha supply shortage and her reported refusal to attend parliamentary deliberations, complaining about media reports not based on facts. In an X post, Takaichi said there was a report that Japan would not be able to secure naphtha supplies in June. “That is not the case,” she said in the post, calling the claim “a factual error.” “We’ll double naphtha imports from outside the Middle East,” she also said. Naphtha is a raw material for plastics and many other products, and a shortage of the substance will significantly affect citizens’ lives. In a different post, she mentioned a report that she indicated her intention not to attend intensive deliberations at the Budget Committee of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, Japan’s parliament. “That’s not true,” she said. “I have made a parliamentary remark that I would attend the Diet if requested. I also conveyed this to a senior Liberal Democratic Party member in the Upper House.” “Recently, there have been too many reports that are completely different from the facts, including on other matters,” she said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]