On April 15, a senior official from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Wednesday that Japan plans to release about 36 million barrels of national oil reserves starting in early May, with contracts with refineries expected to be finalized by the end of April. Last week, Japanese Prime Minister Kaya Hayami said Japan plans to draw on a 20-day oil reserve starting in May to ensure stable domestic supply. At the same time, Japan is also seeking oil resources outside the Middle East, as ongoing war between the United States, Israel, and Iran has disrupted global energy transport. Japan began releasing its oil reserves unilaterally on March 16 and, together with other countries, prepared enough supply for 50 days of oil reserves as planned, while the release of the current 20-day reserve is in addition to that. Japan’s daily oil demand is about 1.8 million barrels.