Japan will act appropriately on oil reserves release – Industry Minister

Japan will act appropriately on oil reserves release while closely watching global developments,the industry minister said on Friday, ahead of a meeting by International Energy Agency (IEA) member countries later in the day.

US President Joe Biden announced on Thursday the largest release ever from the US emergency oil reserve and challenged oil companies to drill more in an attempt to bring down gasoline prices that have soared during Russia’s war with Ukraine.

“It is not clear whether the release will be done by the US alone or the United States will make a proposal at the IEA meeting,” Japanese industry minister Koichi Hagiuda told a news conference.

“In any case, we would like to act appropriately while keeping an eye on the international situation,” he said.