Japan cabinet backs plan to help oil importers pay for higher transport costs

By Yuka Obayashi TOKYO, Oct 13 (Reuters) — Japan's cabinet approved three bills on Tuesday to strengthen energy supply security, including measures to offset higher costs of importing crude oil through routes that bypass the Strait of Hormuz, Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa said. The government plans to submit the bills to parliament during the current extraordinary Diet session. "Through these three bills, we aim to improve supply security by diversifying sources of crude oil and other fossil fuels and reducing related risks," Akazawa told a press conference. The bills include measures to diversify crude oil and other fuel procurement, provide transport insurance support and amend the law governing the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) The procurement diversification bill would create a grant programme to compensate importers for higher transportation costs when sourcing crude oil and fuels via alternative routes that avoid certain chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz The scheme would be fully funded by contributions from a broad range of importers, including oil refiners, traders and petrochemical manufacturers The insurance bill would allow the gove