Takaichi: Japan has oil reserves for nearly nine months

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made the announcement before the Strait of Hormuz was closed, insisting Japan has enough oil reserves for nearly nine months.

The Mainichi reported that on March 2, 2026, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told the House of Representatives Budget Committee — in an effort to reassure the public amid a global crisis — that Japan has sufficient oil stockpiles to last 254 days, or almost nine months.

The statement was made in response to questions from Satoshi Asano of the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) about the potential impact if key energy transport routes were severed.

The Japanese prime minister’s remarks came before tensions escalated further, when Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officially declared the Strait of Hormuz “closed” in the early hours of March 3, 2026 (Thailand time), in retaliation for air strikes by the United States and Israel.

Iran threatened to “set fire to every ship” that defied the order and attempted to pass through the strait, a crucial energy artery that carries more than 20% of global oil consumption.

Takaichi said the government was closely monitoring the situation, as Japan depends on the Middle East for 90% of its crude oil imports, with most of that supply passing through the strait.

At present, at least three major Japanese shipping companies — Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Nippon Yusen, and Kawasaki Kisen — have announced a temporary suspension of voyages through the area to protect crews and cargo.

Although the situation is inevitably affecting global oil prices — as reflected in Thailand, where fuel prices were raised immediately on March 3, with diesel up 4.20 baht per litre — Japan’s prime minister had earlier stressed that stockpiles of nearly nine months should help ease the impact on people’s daily lives and economic activity.

She said the government is ready to take every possible emergency measure to maintain national energy stability.