Japan's cabinet approved three bills on 13 October that Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akazawa said are meant to improve the stability of crude oil and other fossil-fuel procurement by diversifying sources and reducing risk. He told his post-cabinet press conference that the Middle East situation and wider structural change in energy make it necessary to strengthen Japan's energy supply-and-demand structure.
What the three bills cover
The minister named the bills by title. The first is a bill on rationalizing the use of designated waterways to ensure stable transport of crude oil and similar cargo. The second is a special-measures bill on ensuring the performance of specific cargo insurance contracts and specific vessel insurance contracts. The third is a bill to partially amend the law governing JOGMEC, the energy and metals resources agency.
The press conference summary gives no provisions, deadlines, budgets or definitions for any of the three. Akazawa said officials would explain the details later. What the bills would require of shippers, insurers or JOGMEC is therefore not yet established in this record.
Cabinet approval sends a bill to the Diet. It is not enactment, and the terms may change in legislative debate.
The procurement assessment
Asked about repeated attacks on Saudi Arabia and the effect on crude supply, Akazawa said the ministry is following events with serious interest. He said Japan expects to secure about 100% of the previous-year monthly average of crude in October. In his words, the volume of crude and petroleum products Japan needs remains secured. This is the minister's expectation for the month, not a completed result.
He said the government and private sector have worked together on releasing oil stockpiles and finding alternative crude sources, and will continue to do so.
Regional diplomacy
Akazawa joined the International Energy Forum ministerial meeting in Riyadh remotely on 11 October. He had planned to attend in person but could not, citing changed conditions including attacks on Riyadh airport and the risk of being unable to return in time for the Diet. He described the Middle East situation's effect on Asian energy markets as extremely serious.
He said he told the meeting about Japan's efforts to promote cooperation between producers and consumers under "Power Asia"; about the 8 October AZEC ministerial meeting, attended by Deputy Minister Takagi, which agreed an action plan to strengthen Asian oil stockpiles; and about work toward a comprehensive cooperation plan with Gulf states on economic and energy resilience.
Hamaoka, a separate matter
Asked about Chubu Electric's plan to recalculate the reference seismic ground motion at its Hamaoka nuclear plant, Akazawa said nuclear use depends on safety and local understanding. He said Chubu Electric must first rebuild its governance and organizational culture. METI will consider its response, he said, as strictly as possible, taking into account the company's replies to a series of reporting orders. He did not address any restart decision. Earlier Tokyo Brief coverage