JAPAN NOT RULING OUT OPTION OF RELEASING OIL RESERVE ON ITS OWN: MINISTER

TOKYO, March 11 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- The Japanese government "is not ruling out" the option of releasing its national oil reserves unilaterally rather than as part of a coordinated move, industry minister Ryosei Akazawa said Wednesday, as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran spurs concerns about supplies to the resource-scarce Asian country, Kyodo News reported.

Akazawa made the comment at a Diet committee session in response to a question by a lawmaker about the possibility of taking such a step for the first time since the system was established in 1978.

"We will take all possible measures to ensure stable supplies of energy," Akazawa added.

Japan has also expressed support for a possible coordinated release of oil reserves by members of the International Energy Agency to slow down the rise in crude oil prices.

Akazawa signalled Japan's readiness for such a move during a virtual Group of Seven meeting on Tuesday, joined by IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

Akazawa said after that meeting that G7 energy ministers agreed to stand ready to take necessary measures, such as drawing down stockpiles, to support global energy supply.

Japan imports over 90 per cent of its oil from West Asia, making it highly vulnerable to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has prevented energy exports from suppliers in the Persian Gulf.

As of the end of December, Japan had oil reserves totalling 254 days of domestic consumption, of which 146 days' worth were government-owned, 101 days held by the private sector, and the remainder jointly stored with oil-producing countries.

-- BERNAMA-Kyodo