Japan's Government to Release Oil Reserves Starting from the 16th, Scale of Approximately 80 Million Barrels

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, March 15 — The Japanese government plans to release oil reserves starting March 16 to ease the rising oil prices caused by tensions in the Middle East. The total release will be about 80 million barrels, enough to supply Japan for 45 days, marking the largest release since the country’s national oil reserve system was established in 1978.

Japan’s oil reserves include both private and national reserves. As of December 2025, the national reserves can sustain 146 days of supply, while private reserves can sustain 101 days. Since transporting national reserves from storage bases to refineries takes a relatively long time, the Japanese government has decided to first utilize private reserves.

This is a photo of vehicles awaiting sale at a port in Yokohama, Japan, taken on July 3, 2025. (Xinhua/ Jia Haocheng)

According to a plan released by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the government will require private sector refineries to release 15 days’ worth of private oil reserves starting from March 16, followed by the release of 30 days’ worth of national reserves from late March to early April.

Due to the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, Japan, which heavily relies on oil imports from the Middle East, has recently seen a surge in gasoline prices. The Japanese government plans to resume providing price subsidies to oil wholesalers on March 19 in an effort to stabilize fuel prices. (Zhang Jing)