The Japanese government plans to expand stockpiles of crude oil and petroleum products as part of preparations for possible disasters, the Kyodo news agency reported on Saturday.
The country is to be divided into six or seven regions with several dozen commercial facilities set up nationwide as the state's oil stockpiling points.
This should enable each region to have around three to five days of supplies in case of emergency, government sources said.
The move comes in response to shortages of gasoline and heating oil experienced in areas devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
