Japan plans to provide support for alternative pipelines in the Middle East as it seeks to improve energy security in the wake of the Iran war, local media reported, according to AFP.
Before the conflict began in February, the world’s fourth-biggest economy was heavily reliant on oil imports passing through the now-strangled Strait of Hormuz.
The Nikkei daily reported that Japan will assist initiatives by Saudi Arabia and other countries to expand and build new routes for crude which bypass the waterway.
Japan has already tapped its oil reserves to help cope with supply problems and increased crude imports from other countries including the United States.
