Press Conference by Minister Akazawa (Excerpt)

*Note: This is a provisional translation for reference purposes only.

11:54 a.m.‒12:21 p.m.
Tuesday, April 14, 2026
Press Conference Room, METI Main Building

Opening Remarks

Situation concerning the thinner supply chain

I would like to talk about the current situation surrounding the thinner supply chain. I have repeatedly said that we are ensuring the supply of crude oil and  petroleum products in volumes that are sufficient to meet overall demand in Japan through alternative procurement and the release of oil reserves, and we have widely shared this fact with people. However, there have been some imbalances in supply and bottlenecks in distribution. Regarding paint thinner, on April 10, Prime Minister Takaichi instructed Mr. Kaneko Yasushi, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and myself to identify and resolve bottlenecks in the supply chain as soon as possible, while continuously working to secure sufficient supplies to meet overall domestic demand. Paint and thinner products are used for housing construction and automobile repair and maintenance. In the thinner supply chain, petrochemical manufacturers, trading companies, thinner manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of thinner products, painting contractors, related product manufacturers, builders, auto repair shops, and consumers are raising concerns about the shortage of supplies. Let me introduce a typical example of how a shortage of thinner was caused. A leading domestic naphtha manufacturer was notified by companies in the upstream section of the supply chain, such as petrochemical manufacturers, trading companies and oil refining companies, that naphtha-based materials, in particular xylene, will be supplied to the manufacturer as usual for April but the supply amount for May has not yet been determined. In response, the paint thinner manufacturer as well as the wholesale and retail companies of its products immediately halved their shipment volume for April, so the notification itself caused their shipments for April to be halved. This is a typical example of how bottlenecks form in the domestic supply chain. Despite the fact that sufficient supplies are secured, as we have released reserves to cover the difference between the amount necessary to meet overall domestic demand for oil and  petroleum products and that of supplies procured via alternative routes, such bottlenecks can still occur. As a result, painting contractors cannot procure necessary products, and many are in a panic, with much concern about business continuity. As explained here, we will solve such issues by sharing the outlook for the supply of materials across the supply chain. To summarize, the government, by making use of its reserves as necessary, will ensure that petrochemical manufacturers and trading companies will continue to receive supplies as usual, and so, paint thinner manufacturers should not reduce the volume of their shipments for the month by half immediately after receiving a notification like the one that I just mentioned. We have shared this idea with the companies, and the bottlenecks have been resolved. This is a typical example, and on April 13, we made a written request under the name of the Director General of the Manufacturing Industries Bureau with a view to recovering the level of supplies from manufacturers of thinner products, including paint thinner. As communicated through the request, petrochemical companies in the upstream section of the supply chain are supplying toluene and xylene, used as materials for thinner, in an amount equivalent to the previous year’s amount, and we asked concerned parties to take our word as fact, as the words of the national government. We delivered the following requests. “Even if there are any issues concerning the procurement of materials, please do not suspend production. Please do not halve the supply amount for the month, immediately after being told that while regular supply amounts will be procured for the month, the next month’s supplies have not been determined. Instead, please contact the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry or related companies for consultation. We will then investigate individual cases and make adjustments in the supply chain so that paint thinner and other thinner product manufacturers will receive sufficient supplies of materials.” We have delivered these written requests to all domestic paint thinner and other thinner product manufacturers as well as the wholesalers and retailers of their products. We hope that bottlenecks will be resolved as a result of making this a nationwide request. Wholesalers, perhaps in good faith, tend to halve their supply amounts for the month and the next month, wanting to secure supplies for preferential delivery to truly important facilities. But doing this has serious impact on the supply chain, and so we will continue to ask them to refrain from taking this action. There are, however, also good examples that I want to share. A chemical company under the control of a trading company imported thinner  materials on its own to secure supplies. Moreover, a painting contractor, which happens to be operating in my hometown, procured paint thinner from wholesale and retail companies via new routes. Furthermore, there was a case of joint procurement of thinner involving end-user product manufacturers, small and medium painting contractors, wholesalers and retailers. In fact, for the procurement that I have mentioned, large companies supported small builders and other small businesses in procuring what they needed. As such, there are also some very positive examples.

At the Diet session, an opposition party member asked a question about TOTO. According to TOTO and also LIXIL, there are issues concerning prefabricated and modular bathroom units. However, for products other than these, such as toilet bowls, TOTO can accept orders and deliver the ordered products as usual. There seem to be some bottlenecks in the supply chain of prefabricated and modular bathrooms, for which we are now conducting examinations. We understand that TOTO has stopped receiving orders for its bathroom units, according to what they publicly announced, because under its current order system, it is difficult for the company to receive only partial orders and place remaining orders in a waiting list without setting the delivery deadlines. TOTO is planning to adopt a different order receiving system going forward to address this, and is now taking action for that purpose. Under the new system, the company will be able to restart accepting orders. Modular bathroom units are still being produced to respond to some orders, and on our part, we are making efforts to resolve the bottlenecks that cause delayed deliveries. For thinner, we were able to resolve issues and bottlenecks, and if the bottlenecks for the bathrooms are eliminated earlier than TOTO’s shift to a new order reception system, the company may be able to accept all new orders after shifting to the new order reception system. We are, in a sense, competing to achieve our respective targets. Going forward, based on the recognition that there are sufficient supplies to meet overall demand in Japan, we will work to resolve each distribution bottleneck that appears. 

Question-and-Answer Session

Impact of the Middle East situation

Q: Concerning the Middle East situation, President Trump has announced that the United States started to blockade Iranian ports; preventing ships from entering or leaving. Please share with us your views on this, including the impact of the blockade on Japanese vessels.

A: I know that issues on the Strait of Hormuz were discussed at the U.S.-Iran talk held in Islamabad on Saturday, April 11, and subsequently President Trump announced the start of a blockade of Iranian ports. We are now monitoring related movements concerning the Strait. What is of utmost importance is to bring the situation under control, including ensuring the safety of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and we expect that the two countries will reach a final agreement through diplomacy. I will refrain from making any predictions related to the situation in the Middle East, but I would like to share with everyone the fact that we have been ensuring the supply of fuel and  petroleum products in sufficient amounts to meet overall domestic demand, as I have repeatedly said. Going forward, we will make an all-out effort to continuously secure stable supplies, while also working to eliminate imbalances in supply and bottlenecks in distribution. We will implement all necessary measures to prevent the Middle East situation from having material impact on people’s lives, livelihoods and economic activities.

Q: Now, the U.S. side is starting a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which had been controlled or blockaded by the Iranian side. Will this have different impact on Japan?

A: It is too early to say. Both Iran and U.S. President Trump are communicating, and we are monitoring the situation. Some say that the Strait of Hormuz should be open to all ships for free passage based on the right of innocent passage, in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and others. On the other hand, the strait is only 24 miles wide at its narrowest point according to my knowledge and is located within the territorial waters of the surrounding countries. There are conflicting opinions concerning the strait, and the Iranian side insists that the strait is theirs and so they have the right to control it, while others say that international law does not agree with Iran’s assessment and so it should be open to all ships for free passage. After the United States started to take action against Iran on February 28, the issue became a great focus of controversy. Iran says it is theirs and so they can collect tolls and control it. However, many countries say such an idea is unacceptable. It is a very serious focus of controversy, and at present I cannot comment.