> Google is telling me

Google is not an authoritative source. If we wanted to Google it we could do that ourselves.

Try bringing a substantive argument with references to the table.

Are you saying domestic policy and financial / tax incentives do not affect local manufacturing and markets?

Because that doesn’t sound like the sort of argument any reasonable sport of person would intentionally make.

As an Australian, I’ll note they our local federal government has, and this has always been their shtick, adopted the view that they can tax the nation to prosperity. That they can incentivise our way to productivity.

In practice this has only ever resulted in a demonstration of waste and a path to misalignment incentives.

But surely top-down financial policy will work this time.

They did say "everything I can find" which, while not citing references, you would also have found it you tried to Google this at all. Here's one

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/24/business/what-is-naphtha....

here's another one:

https://www.irishtimes.com/world/asia-pacific/2026/05/19/ple...

It's wider than Japan, it's in other countries in Asia. It's directly tied to the war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. But it's pretty clear you have your own axe to grind.