Given their precarious domestic supply situation, it's been surprising they haven't chosen to lead the world on electrification of transport. China had much the same equation and have clearly gone through other way. In my recent visit, I was told in big cities buying a gasoline powdered vehicle takes months or years in permits but an electric vehicle can be bought instantly.

If they (and the rest of us for that matter) weren't burning so much of it, there'd be more left over for other uses.

(with the obvious caveat that less demand means less production, which would mean there wouldn't be a lot of surplus. But in a world where we don't burn so much oil, it probably wouldn't be worth either party closing the Strait anyway...)

Japan need to use far less of it. Their levels of waste in plastic and so on, is still ridiculously high in comparison with many places.