Sanae Takaichi
After the release of oil from the reserves of private companies, which corresponds to the volume sufficient to provide the country with oil for 15 days, the state will open its reserves from March 16. Their volume is equal to a 30-day supply of oil for the country.
The announcement was made by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday. The moves will help ensure that “there will be no disruption in the supply of petroleum products such as gasoline,” Takaichi said in a statement on social network X.
The total amount of oil from the reserves will be 80 million barrels. This corresponds to the amount of oil needed for 45 days. The amount corresponding to 15 days will be taken from commercial reserves and 30 days from government reserves. By the time oil from the reserves was released to the market, Japan had 254 days’ supply of oil, about 470 million barrels.
Japan is 94% dependent on oil supplies from the Middle East. Almost all of this volume goes through the Strait of Hormuz, the traffic on which is virtually stopped.
Who else has opened state reserves
In addition to Japan, the US opened its strategic reserves, leading the initiative by releasing the largest volume of oil from its storage facilities. South Korea also confirmed the release of part of its reserves to stabilize domestic prices.
Major EU economies (e.g. Germany, France, Italy and the UK) have also joined the coordinated action by International Energy Agency (IEA) member countries to release oil from state reserves. The list includes Australia, Canada and a number of other countries that are members of the agency.
The main goal of this coalition is to bring down global prices and compensate for supply shortages. However, the stronger impact on prices was Donald Trump’s decision to postpone strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure for 5 days.
It caused a sharp drop in oil prices on Monday, March 23, 2026. The market instantly reacted to the decrease in the threat of escalation of the conflict, which has lasted for about a month.
How prices fell
The cost of the North Sea blend after Trump’s statement collapsed by about 10-11% in one trading day. The price fell below the psychological mark of $100 per barrel (to a level of about $99.94), although earlier it reached $114-$119 amid threats. The U.S. benchmark lost more than 10%, closing at around $88.13 per barrel.
But already on Tuesday morning, prices showed a partial rebound upwards (Brent rose to ~$103). Investors began to doubt the reality of progress after Iran’s Foreign Ministry denied direct talks with the US, calling Trump’s statements an attempt to bring down energy prices, Reuters reports.
