Japan Can Maintain Stable Oil Supplies until March 2028: PM Takaichi

Tokyo, June 11 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Thursday that her country can now maintain stable domestic oil supplies until March 2028, rather than until next spring as she had previously indicated. At a meeting of relevant minister on the situation in the Middle East, Takaichi said that Japan’s alternative oil procurement, or oil imports that do not pass through the Strait of Hormuz, is expected to account for all of its oil imports in July. Japan is slated to newly receive oil from Mexico, while oil imports from the United States are expected to increase more than 10-fold from a year earlier, according to the prime minister. Even if the proportion of such alternative procurement is 75 pct in August and beyond, Japan can maintain stable oil supplies by using its oil reserves, she added. Takaichi also said that the government has developed a system that allows lubricants to be sold directly from major producers, in response to concerns that the supply of lubricants, used for thousands of items, such as engine oil and cutting oil, is complex and prone to disruption. Additionally, the government will expand the scope of a system that provides up to 280 million yen in public credit guarantees to 583 business types, starting in July. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]