ABSTRACT
In the month following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, amore extensive reference to the oil factor in Japanese strategy appeared in World Petroleum. Japanese annual oil demand in wartime for civil and military purposes may be estimated (calculated in the form of crude oil) at 105,000,000 bbl. The war with America will add considerably to requirements as long as the Japanese Navy, air force, and land army are operating over vast territories. Shortly after the announcement of the Seven Year Plan, war with China broke out, seriously deranging the schedule. The ambitious self-sufficiency program had, for some time at least, to be curtailed. It became increasingly difficult to follow the course of Japanese supplies and requirements. The role of substitutes in Japanese oil economy has only lately become significant. The oil economy of Japan was thus put on a total war footing even before the actual outbreak of war.
