TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi outlined government measures responding to the Hormuz crisis on April 24, 2025, after meeting with Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Takayuki Kobayashi and chairing Diet and cabinet committee sessions in Tokyo. The measures addressed alternate oil supplies, distribution bottlenecks and the potential dispatch of minesweepers.

Kobayashi delivered a series of proposals to the government for its response to the crisis, including a call to consider dispatching minesweepers once the conflict is over. The proposals focused on measures to contain price increases and ensure adequate supplies during the ongoing crisis.

In a cabinet committee meeting that day, Takaichi said the government had secured oil supplies for May from alternate sources totaling roughly 60% of Japan's May 2025 usage. She instructed her government to aim to exceed 60% for June oil supplies from alternate sources.

During a Diet session the same day, Takaichi said the government is working on resolving bottlenecks in Japan's distribution of naphtha. Producers have warned that shortages of naphtha could lead them to scale back production.

The Centrist Reform Alliance and its affiliated parties are calling for an early supplemental budget to address the crisis. A Nikkei panel of economists favors measures to promote conservation and to reduce or phase out gasoline subsidies.

Toyo Keizai columnist Kanbee warned that despite leading indicators pointing to slowing demand, the lessons from the oil shocks of the 1970s should caution the government against relying on fiscal stimulus to aid consumers. The Nikkei panel's recommendations and Kanbee's caution reflect differing views among outside observers on how Japan should respond to the supply disruption.