Japan Backs Alternative Middle East Oil Pipelines: Reports
Japan plans to provide support for alternative pipelines in the Middle East as it seeks to improve energy security in the wake of the Iran war, local media reported Wednesday.
Before the conflict began in February, the world's fourth-biggest economy was heavily reliant on oil imports passing through the now-strangled Strait of Hormuz.
The Nikkei daily reported that Japan will assist init 
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TOKYO — In a bid to bolster its energy security following the outbreak of war in Iran, Japan is planning to back alternative pipeline projects in the Middle East, local media reported on Wednesday.
Prior to the conflict’s start in February, Japan—the world’s fourth-largest economy—depended heavily on oil imports shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime transit route that is now severely restricted.
According to the Nikkei daily, Tokyo intends to support efforts by Saudi Arabia and neighboring nations to construct and expand pipeline networks that bypass the bottlenecked waterway.
To mitigate current supply disruptions, Japan has already drawn from its emergency oil stockpiles and boosted crude imports from alternative suppliers, including the United States.
Additional energy security measures are scheduled to be finalized during a government meeting later Wednesday. Among them is a plan to establish a specialized crude oil reserve dedicated to producing naphtha, a crucial petrochemical feedstock used across numerous manufacturing sectors, national broadcaster NHK reported.
Furthermore, NHK indicated that the government will advocate for “maximizing the use of nuclear power” and pledge state support for the development of next-generation perovskite solar cells.
Driven in part by the soaring electricity demands of artificial intelligence, Japan was already working to revitalize its nuclear energy sector, a decade and a half after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
