Naphtha Supply Crunch Disrupts Industries: Shortages Hit Manufacturing, Healthcare, and Daily Life Across Japan

Japan’s naphtha shortage is expanding beyond petrochemicals into everyday consumer goods, forcing companies to restrict production and suspend orders as Middle East conflict disrupts critical supply chains.

Japanese companies dependent on naphtha or naphtha-based products are halting new orders or cutting production despite government assurances of sufficient supply, according to reports from April 15, 2026. The disruption stems from a sustained drop in oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz, which has persisted for one and a half months and continues to spread globally.

TOTO, the bathroom fixtures maker, notified partners on Monday, April 14, 2026, that it is suspending new orders for prefabricated and modular bathrooms with no clear date for resumption. The company cited a shortage in organic solvents used for wall and ceiling coatings as the main reason for the order suspension.

TOTO confirmed that, affected by the situation in the Middle East, domestic and overseas raw-material procurement is highly unstable. To ensure supply for existing orders, the company may restrict or adjust new orders. Data shows Japan relies on the Middle East for over 90% of its crude oil and nearly 45% of its naphtha, with naphtha serving as a core feedstock for plastics, resins, and related products.

The supply shortage has affected more listed Japanese companies. Residential equipment maker Takara Standard disclosed on Monday, April 14, 2026, that the Middle East conflict has seriously disrupted naphtha-related raw-material supplies, causing its stock to plunge 6.55% that day—the largest single-day drop since August 2024.

Osaka-based building materials firm LIXIL Group also said the conflict has constrained supplies of key materials such as resins and aluminum, making price increases unavoidable. The crisis is exposing a more serious risk to people’s livelihoods compared to shortages in home, building-materials, and even semiconductor supplies.

Naphtha, a petroleum-derived liquid mixture, is a fundamental raw material for producing plastics, synthetic rubber, solvents, and other chemical products. Its scarcity is now impacting sectors ranging from construction materials to consumer goods, highlighting the vulnerability of Japan’s import-dependent industrial base to geopolitical shocks in key energy transit routes.

As the disruption continues, manufacturers across Asia are feeling the full force of a war-fueled energy crisis, with effects spreading from beer production to cosmetics manufacturing, underscoring the far-reaching consequences of prolonged instability in the Strait of Hormuz.