Press Conference by Minister Akazawa (Excerpt)

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

9:35‒9:57 a.m.
Friday, April 24, 2026
Press Conference Room, METI Main Building

Opening Remarks

Visit to Niigata Prefecture

Tomorrow, on Saturday, April 25, I will visit Niigata Prefecture with Mr. Yamada Kenji, State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry. In Niigata, first we will visit Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station, where we will exchange views with the company’s Chairman Kobayashi Yoshimitsu and President Kobayakawa Tomoaki and inspect how safety measures are implemented for the No. 6 reactor, which restarted commercial operation on Thursday, April 16. In Niigata Prefecture, we will also meet Governor Hanazumi Hideyo. Concerning the nuclear power plant, we received requests from the governor last December. We will exchange views with him on the measures taken in response to the requests.

Question-and-Answer Session

Procurement of crude oil from Mexico

Q: Let me ask you about the procurement of oil from alternative sources. It is reported that recently the leaders of Japan and Mexico reached an agreement on the import of 1 million barrels of crude oil from Mexico to Japan. Regarding the procurement of oil from alternative sources, the Japanese government is said to have secured oil supplies beyond the end of the year. How will the import of oil from Mexico be incorporated into the government’s procurement plan? Also, please share with us your outlook for alternative procurement and resource diplomacy.

A: Concerning your first question, on Tuesday, April 21, the leaders of the two countries discussed the Middle East situation by phone and agreed to foster bilateral cooperation on issues including energy supply in light of the recent energy situation. I will refrain from commenting on further details of their telephone conversations, as they involve diplomatic matters. Regarding alternative procurement, we will be able to procure crude oil via alternative routes in an amount that is equivalent to 20% or more and more than 50% of last year’s April and May import volumes, respectively. In particular, the import volume from the United States will be quadrupled year on year in May. We will thereby secure crude oil in an amount that is sufficient to meet overall domestic demand beyond the end of the year. We will continue to further enhance our measures to boost the percentage of oil procured from alternative sources, including Mexico and other oil producing countries. To this end, the public and private sectors will make renewed efforts to work together even harder.

Visit to Japan by H.E. Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr., President of the Philippines

Q: The Asia Zero Emission Community Plus (AZEC+) meeting was held the other day, and today, the cabinet made a decision to invite President Marcos Jr. of the Philippines as a state guest to Japan. The visit by the President will attract more attention to  POWERR Asia and AZEC+. Could you share your views on this?

A: I will refrain from commenting on the invitation of President Marcos Jr. as a state guest to Japan in my capacity as the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry. However, ASEAN countries are growth partners for Japan, and we would like to enhance cooperation with the Philippines, which assumes the ASEAN Chairship this year, by making use of all possible opportunities to enhance Japan-ASEAN economic relations. In particular, it is extremely important to strengthen supply chains for energy and critical materials in light of the Middle East situation. Through the Partnership on Wide Energy and Resources Resilience Asia, or POWERR Asia, which was newly proposed by Prime Minister Takaichi, we would like to structure specific projects. We will thereby boost the resilience of Asia’s entire energy supply chain to facilitate Japan’s alternative procurement and also to make it easier for Japan to procure oil-based products from Asian countries that manufacture such products by using imported crude oil. I expect that POWERR Asia will bring great benefits to Japan, including those that I have just mentioned.