Japan plans Mideast oil route support, media say

Japan plans to support alternative Middle East oil routes that bypass the Strait of Hormuz, the Nikkei daily reported Wednesday, as it seeks to strengthen energy security after the Iran war.

Nikkei reported that Japan will assist initiatives by Saudi Arabia and other countries to expand and build new routes for crude oil. Before the conflict began in February, Japan was heavily reliant on oil imports passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Japan has already tapped its oil reserves to help manage supply problems and has increased crude imports from other countries, including the United States.

Broadcaster NHK reported that measures due to be decided at a government meeting later Wednesday include an initiative for a special crude oil reserve to produce naphtha, an oil by-product used in a range of industries. NHK also reported that the government was expected to call for maximising the use of nuclear power and to support next-generation perovskite solar cells.

Japan has already been moving to revive its nuclear power sector, 15 years after the Fukushima disaster, partly to meet a projected rise in power demand from artificial intelligence.