254 Days NEW
Japan holds 254 days of oil in reserve. That number has been repeated so often since February 28 that it has become a kind of talisman, proof that the country can absorb anything the Strait of Hormuz throws at it. It is also misleading. On March 16, Prime Minister Takaichi ordered the largest oil reserve release in Japanese history: 80 million barrels, equivalent to 45 days of domestic consumption. The draw came from both private and government stockpiles and was coordinated with a 400-million-barrel IEA-wide release across 32 member nations. Japan’s contribution was the second largest after the United States. ...