Record gasoline prices and fears of even worse to come have prompted Japan to announce the biggest-ever release from its strategic oil reserves, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi confirming the deployment of approximately 80 million barrels to domestic refiners beginning Thursday. The immediate trigger is the US-Israel military conflict with Iran, which has disrupted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and pushed fuel prices in Japan to unprecedented levels. The reserve release and accompanying subsidies are designed to bring costs down and ensure supply continuity as the global crisis unfolds.
Gasoline retail prices had climbed to a record ¥190.8 per litre before the government intervened, with new subsidies now designed to cap costs at approximately ¥170 — a significant reduction that will be reviewed weekly as oil markets remain volatile. The scale of price increases had already started to affect consumer behavior and business operating costs across a wide range of sectors. Officials hope that the combined effect of reserve releases and subsidies will quickly stabilize the situation.
Japan’s dependence on Middle Eastern crude — over 90% of imports — means that any disruption to the Strait of Hormuz translates directly and swiftly into domestic supply pressure. The 80 million barrel release covers 45 days of national consumption and exceeds the previous emergency deployment during the 2011 Fukushima crisis by 1.8 times. Japan’s total reserves of approximately 470 million barrels ensure that even this historic drawdown leaves the country with substantial buffer supply.
Concerns about toilet paper and other consumer goods have circulated on social media, with some stores reportedly running low amid stockpiling behavior. Industry bodies confirmed that Japan’s toilet paper supply is almost entirely domestically produced from recycled materials and is not threatened by oil import disruptions. The trade ministry urged calm, warning that panic buying could create artificial shortages of goods that are not actually at risk.
Prime Minister Takaichi has maintained a steady hand throughout the crisis, managing both domestic economic pressures and international diplomatic demands. Her refusal to comply with Trump’s request for naval deployment to the Hormuz region was delivered clearly and without ambiguity, grounded in Japan’s constitutional commitment to pacifism. Japan’s response demonstrates that it is possible to take a crisis seriously while refusing to escalate it.