Commodities
Cost and practicality pose challenges amid limited options for policymakers
Petroleum containers in Chiba prefecture, near Tokyo. Japan may request oil firms to hold crude oil that could be refined into naphtha. (Photo by Kai Fujii)
KENTA SHIMAI and MEMI HIUCHI
TOKYO — Japan is pursuing the creation of naphtha reserves following supply disruptions caused by the Iran conflict and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, though economic and technical hurdles constrain the available options.