Media: Japan eyes Azerbaijan oil as Hormuz blockade hits supply

Japan is exploring oil purchases from Azerbaijan as it seeks to diversify energy imports following disruptions in Middle East supply routes.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara dismissed online claims that this June Japan could face a shortage of naphtha—a petroleum-derived product used in plastic production, Caliber.Az reports, citing Japan Today.

He noted that Japan currently holds four months’ worth of reserves: two months of imported naphtha and two months of intermediate chemical products.

“At this point, no supply-demand problems have emerged, and Japan as a whole has secured the amount it needs,” Kihara emphasised.

Earlier, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi indicated that domestic reserves could be increased to more than six months by diversifying imports from countries outside the Middle East.

The move follows Iran’s effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz amid its conflict with the United States and Israel, which has disrupted shipments and pushed up prices.

The Japanese government is considering alternative supply routes through the Red Sea and imports from Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Shun'ichi Suzuki said that if the situation worsens, the public could be asked to conserve energy, and strategic reserves would be deployed as needed.

The Strait of Hormuz blockade has already affected Japan’s automotive sector: Mazda has paused production of cars for the Middle East until May, while output for Europe and the US continues.

Toyota and Nissan are also scaling back production.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov