Overview
- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, after Wednesday talks in Tokyo, asked IEA chief Fatih Birol to prepare another coordinated release, and he said the agency is ready if needed.
- The government will start selling about 8.5 million kilolitres from 11 state storage sites on Thursday, equal to roughly 30 days of supply.
- Japan began drawing 15 days of private oil stocks on March 16 and plans to tap about 13 million barrels held in Japan with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait by the end of March.
- These actions feed into the IEA’s 400 million‑barrel plan, with Japan’s share near 80 million barrels, and Birol noted that about 80% of members’ reserves remain.
- The steps aim to ease a crunch from the Strait of Hormuz shutdown, which has stranded 45 Japan‑related ships in the Gulf and kept fuel costs high for households and businesses.