BY FILIPPO PEDRETTI
For Japan, the fallout from the U.S.-Israel war on Iran is not limited to an energy crisis precipitated by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
After all, oil and natural gas are not only consumed as fuels; they are also critical industrial inputs. The most immediate vulnerability has emerged in the nation’s petrochemical sector, particularly the naphtha-to-ethylene supply chain.
Natural gas is also essential for fertilizer production, creating knock-on effects not just for Japan but across import-dependent Asian economies such as South Korea and the Philippines. Other exposed sectors include semiconductor production and automotive manufacturing.
The government of Prime Minister Takaichi, in power for only six months, now faces an unprecedented storm of record-high fuel prices, domestic production halts and multiple supply chain disruptions.