Test paragraph 3

The numbers behind the Strait of Hormuz speak for themselves. Roughly 21 percent of the world’s seaborne oil and about 25 percent of global liquefied natural gas passes through this narrow waterway — just 54 kilometers wide at its most constricted point. For Japan, these figures carry unusual weight. Around 90 percent of Japan’s crude oil imports come from the Middle East, and most of that flows through the Strait. Within days of the war’s outbreak, Brent crude had blown past $130 per barrel and briefly threatened $150. Japanese gasoline prices have surpassed 250 yen per liter, and the knock-on effects — electricity bills, gas bills, grocery prices, freight costs — are hitting households and small businesses hard across the country.