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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Gavin Blair in Tokyo

‘Remain calm’: Japan is gripped by fears of a naphtha shortage. What is it and why are people worried?

Japan Sanae Takaichi Oil Calbee crude oil Hormuz Kyodo News
A pedestrian walks past a monitor displaying a chart of the Nikkei 225 Stock Average outside a securities firm on in Tokyo, Japan.
A pedestrian walks past a monitor displaying a chart of the Nikkei 225 Stock Average outside a securities firm on in Tokyo, Japan. Photograph: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images

Japan’s government is fighting to cushion the economic impact of the Middle East war, as the shortage of oil sends inflation rising, with the crisis threatening to undermine prime minister Sanae Takaichi’s wide poll lead.

Amidst it all, new polling shows that Japan has seen a surge in concern over shortages of naphtha, a crude oil product that is used to make a wide variety of products.

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