The conflict in Iran is having serious knock-on effects around the world, from cancelled flights as jet fuel supplies run short to fears about the food supply as fertiliser prices increase. Japan, which gets 90 per cent of its oil from the Middle East, is as vulnerable as anyone, but the most serious consequence there, according to much of the local media at least, is the prospect of a Naptha drought. Naphtha (‘nafusa’ is the Japanese pronunciation) is the petroleum-derived chemical used, amongst other things, for the vivid colours used in food packaging.

On 12 May, Calbee – the company that makes Japan’s most popular brand of potato crisps – announced that, in response to a 79 per cent increase in the price of naphtha, its distinctive orange packaging would be replaced by a funereal monochrome for its lightly salted, consommé and seaweed salt flavoured snacks. Then, a week ago, Kagome, the company that produces a popular brand of ketchup, announced a redesign of its packaging, with half the colourful label removed. The company explained that a substitute for the petroleum-based ink used in the ketchup bottles could not be found, so much smaller labels would be used.

Japan is a nation of colour synaesthetes

Japan is a nation of colour synaesthetes

Cue panic stations in Japan. A Kyodo poll revealed that 70 per cent of........

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