A tanker carrying crude oil from the United Arab Emirates has arrived in Japan to refill a joint stockpile it holds with other oil-producing nations.

Japan's government says this is the first replenishment since it started releasing oil from the reserves amid the worsening situation in the Middle East.

The tanker reached the Eneos Kiire base in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Friday morning.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are allowed to store crude oil in Japan. The joint stockpiling program gives Japanese companies preferential purchasing rights for the oil in times of emergency.

Japan has been dipping into these reserves since late March. The industry ministry says this has reduced the stockpile from six days' worth of consumption to one.

The ministry says an additional day's worth of consumption is being brought in for the replenishment. But it says it has not decided when and under what conditions it will release the oil.

Japan has also been tapping into national oil reserves and private-sector stockpiles.

nhk