Prime Minister reluctant to use laws against naphtha hoarding

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said it is more convenient to publicly recognize companies that cooperate with releasing inventory than to enforce anti-hoarding laws. With naphtha-made products still in short supply for end users, the government faces questions about whether to apply two laws to punish hoarders.

Laws under consideration One law aims to prevent businesses from hoarding and holding back the sale of daily necessities. The other law is aimed at setting a fixed price for daily goods so that prices will not rise quickly. Firms in a broad range of industries at the end of the supply chain remain unable to source needed products made from naphtha due to stockpiling by upstream firms.