Japan to release national oil reserves from Thursday

2026-03-24 - 05:21

Japan’s strategic oil reserves are among the world’s largest and stood at more than 400 million barrels as of December. (EPA Images pic) TOKYO: Japan will release another part of its strategic oil reserves from Thursday, prime minister Sanae Takaichi said Tuesday, and will tap into joint stockpiles held by producing nations in the country by the end of the month. “In order to secure ‘the necessary amount for the whole of Japan’... we will release the state (oil) reserve from 26th March,” she said in a post on X. “Furthermore, a release from the joint reserve of oil-producing countries is expected to begin in March,” Takaichi added. On March 16, Tokyo started releasing 15 days’ worth of private-sector petroleum reserves. Takaichi previously announced that a month’s worth of government stockpiles would also be released. A joint reserve is held in Japan by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, according to the Petroleum Association of Japan. Japan depends on the Middle East for 95% of its oil imports. Its strategic oil reserves are among the world’s largest and stood at more than 400 million barrels as of December. Members of the International Energy Agency agreed on March 11 to tap oil stockpiles to cushion the surge in prices caused by the war in the Middle East, in by far the largest-ever response of its kind.