Ink Shortage Forces Japanese Potato Chips to Switch to Black-and-White Packaging

The ongoing war in the Middle East has heavily disrupted oil shipments out of the Persian Gulf, creating a widespread impact across various industries in Japan, a nation that relies heavily on imported oil. In a striking example, the famous snack manufacturer Calbee recently announced on the May 12th that 14 of its products, including its iconic potato chips, will temporarily switch to simple black-and-white packaging. Local media reports suggest this change is due to an unstable supply of naphtha, a crude oil byproduct essential for manufacturing printing inks, which has made full-color packaging printing incredibly difficult. Reporting on the situation, NHK economics reporter Wataru Yoneda noted that the new packages feature only black and white text and completely remove the traditional images of potato chips.

Beyond the snack industry, the crisis is also affecting the construction sector, where shortages of certain building materials have forced some developers to delay handovers or swap out materials for certain equipment. The Japanese government has already received around 2,300 inquiries from businesses seeking guidance on shortages of oil-related raw materials. Despite these growing concerns, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reassured the public during a cabinet meeting, stating that Japan’s current domestic reserves of naphtha are sufficient to last until the end of the year and that there is no need for panic over oil supplies. She explained that the government will continue to secure alternative oil sources while carefully managing national reserves to ensure steady consumption across the country. Furthermore, Prime Minister Takaichi pointed out that Japan has already ordered additional oil from alternative regions via different shipping routes, securing about 70% of the country's required supply for June. As a result, there is currently no immediate need to release more national oil reserves or request citizens to cut back on energy use.