Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is considering visiting Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in late August to help stabilize crude oil markets rattled by Russia's war in Ukraine, government sources said Wednesday.
The envisaged trip to the Middle East, which would be the first by a Japanese leader since Shinzo Abe in January 2020, will come after Kishida visits Tunisia for an international conference on African development known as TICAD on Aug. 27 and 28, the sources said.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sent energy and raw material prices soaring amid supply concerns, sparking inflation in many parts of the world.
Resource-scarce Japan is no exception, and Kishida's government has taken steps to soften the blow to households from higher energy prices, including giving subsidies to oil wholesalers to lower retail prices.
The visit comes as the economic consequences of Russia's war in Ukraine are increasingly being felt globally, and concerns have grown about supplies of liquefied natural gas from Russia.
Japan relies heavily on imports to satisfy domestic energy needs and gets 90% of its crude oil from the Middle East.
Kishida apparently aims to find ways to secure stable energy supplies through the planned visit, though the outlook appears uncertain.
Following the Russian aggression that began in late February, he ramped up coordination with Saudi, UAE and Qatar leaders to help stabilize the oil markets.
U.S. President Joe Biden visited the Middle East in mid-July for the first time since taking office. In Saudi Arabia, Biden called for more crude oil output by members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes major producers Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, but failed to secure specific commitments.