Japan releases about 80 million barrels of oil reserves starting today.

The Japanese government has decided to release oil reserves starting today to ease the rise in oil prices caused by tensions in the Middle East. The total release amount is approximately 80 million barrels, equivalent to 45 days of Japan's oil supply needs, making it the largest release since the establishment of the national oil reserve system in Japan in 1978. Japan's oil reserves include both private and national reserves. According to previous disclosures by the Japanese government, the total amount of national and private oil reserves in Japan can sustain for 254 days. As national oil reserves need to be transported from reserve bases to refineries, which takes a relatively long time, the Japanese government has decided to first utilize private reserves. Due to the blockage of the Hormuz Strait, Japan, which heavily relies on importing oil from the Middle East, has seen a sharp increase in gasoline prices recently. The Japanese government plans to resume providing price subsidies to oil wholesalers on the 19th in order to stabilize oil prices.