The Strait of Hormuz is a key artery of the world’s oil trade – approximately a fifth of the world’s supplies normally flow through it. Restrictions on traffic across the strait after the conflict between Iran, the USA and Israel sharply increased the price of oil and diesel. At the same time, diesel fuel is not just a fuel: it is a raw material necessary for the production of plastics and printing inks. In Asia, its prices have almost doubled since the beginning of the fighting in February.
“Approximately 40 percent of Japanese diesel was imported from the Middle East,” Deputy Prime Minister Kei Sato told the BBC. According to him, the Japanese government is working to solve import shortfalls, but so far without concrete results.
Calbee is one of the largest manufacturers of snacks in Japan. The company announced that the simplified black-and-white packaging should help maintain a stable supply of goods to the market – that is, to ensure that the products reach store shelves at all. The measure concerns chips and crackers, and the company described it as temporary.
This is not an isolated case. Japanese food companies report a lack of plastic packaging, car companies warn of rising production costs, and some airlines are limiting flights due to rising fuel prices. The war in the Middle East is thus affecting the Japanese economy in ways that no one could have predicted just a few months ago.
