Japan will tap its oil reserves for the first time since 2022 as the war in the Middle East disrupts crude flows and raises the risk of supply shortages.

¡°Japan has decided to take the lead in easing supply and demand conditions in the global energy market by releasing reserves as early as the 16th of this month,¡± Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Wednesday evening.

She emphasized the decision as being made without waiting for the International Energy Agency (IEA) to reach a decision on a potential coordinated release among its member nations.

The prime minister made the announcement hours before a scheduled online meeting with other Group of Seven leaders to discuss the oil supply situation and potentially agree upon a coordinated release of their stockpiles. The cohort of nations and the IEA have held ministerial-level meetings two days in a row.

Japan will start off by releasing 15 days¡¯ worth of privately held reserves and one month¡¯s worth of national reserves. The released stockpiled oil will be delivered to domestic refineries as quickly as possible, Takaichi said.

Japan holds stockpiled oil equivalent to about 254 days of domestic demand ¡ª including 146 days in national reserves, 101 days in mandatory private stockpiles and seven days under a reserve program with oil-producing countries.

The IEA has proposed that member countries release more oil than the 182 million barrels released after Russia¡¯s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. The proposal is expected to be adopted on Wednesday if no country objects.

¡°Crude oil tankers are currently in a situation where they are effectively unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. As a result, Japan¡¯s crude oil imports are expected to decline significantly from late this month,¡± Takaichi said.

¡°To ensure that there is absolutely no disruption to the supply of petroleum products such as gasoline, we will coordinate with other countries and the IEA while utilizing Japan¡¯s petroleum reserves.¡±

The world¡¯s oil market has been on edge since U.S. and Israeli armed forces attacked Iran on Feb. 28 in a massive assault that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had been Iran¡¯s supreme leader for nearly four decades.

The attacks triggered retaliatory strikes around the region and disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. More than 70% of Japan-bound oil shipments pass through the choke point.

Oil prices surged earlier this week, with Brent crude rising to nearly $120 per barrel before retreating. It was trading at about $87.50 on Wednesday. The average price of gasoline in Japan rose to ?161.8 per liter on Monday, the first time in three months it broke ?160, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade...