Gasoline subsidy drives demand amid concerns about energy supplies
The Kikuma national petroleum-stockpiling base in Imabari, Ehime prefecture. Japan started releasing oil from the facility on March 26. © Kyodo
TOKYO — Japan’s strategic petroleum reserve, one of the largest in the world, will be tested for resilience by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East even as the government stokes demand through a recently revived gasoline price subsidy.