Japan has intensified outreach to crude oil producers across multiple continents as the Strait of Hormuz blockade enters its third month, driving the country's most severe energy supply disruption on record. Tokyo has contacted suppliers in Nigeria and at least four other nations to secure non-Middle East barrels, according to officials briefed on the strategy.
Reserve Release and Route Diversification
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced at a cabinet meeting Friday that Japan will release an additional 20 days' worth of oil from its public stockpile beginning in May. The release follows an initial emergency drawdown launched March 16 that made available enough crude to cover 50 days of consumption. The new tranche comes on top of that existing buffer.
By May, Japan aims to route more than half of its oil imports through pathways that bypass the Strait of Hormuz entirely, Takaichi stated. The country is simultaneously expanding purchases from the United States, its closest ally, with American crude deliveries expected to reach four times their year-ago level by May, according to a Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry document released Friday.
Japan imported approximately 189,000 barrels per day from the United States last May, representing roughly 8% of its total crude purchases that month. U.S. officials have pressed Tokyo to increase those volumes further as Washington works to blunt the impact of Iranian controls on the waterway.
Dependence and Stockpile Status
Japan relies on the Middle East for approximately 95% of its crude oil supply, leaving it acutely exposed to the current disruption. The blockade, maintained by Tehran despite a two-week ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, has created what traders describe as the worst-ever shock to global energy logistics.
As of April 7, Japan's total reserves stood at 228 days of consumption, including 143 days held in public stockpiles managed by the government. The planned reserve drawdown will draw exclusively from the public inventory, officials confirmed. Deputy Director-General Narumi Hosokawa for immediate crisis management at METI told reporters that Tokyo is acting independently while coordinating with allied nations on broader market stabilization efforts.