Calbee's Black-and-White Potato Chips Reach Store Shelves

Jun 18, 2026 | News On Japan

TOKYO - Calbee's potato chips in black-and-white packaging appeared on convenience store shelves in Tokyo on June 17, reflecting the company's response to concerns over the stability of printing ink supplies derived from naphtha as tensions in the Middle East disrupted procurement.

The monochrome packages were displayed alongside the company's traditional colorful potato chip bags. Printed in the upper-left corner of the new packaging is the message, "Petroleum Resource Saving Package."

The packaging change was introduced after concerns grew over securing sufficient supplies of printing ink made from petroleum-based raw materials. Although the United States and Iran have reached a memorandum aimed at ending hostilities, Calbee said it has not yet decided when it will return to its standard packaging.

The company has not announced a timetable for ending the temporary packaging measure.

Source: Kyodo

Okinawa Braces for Violent Winds as Typhoon No. 9 Nears

Large and very strong Typhoon No. 9 (Bavi) was moving west-northwest east of the Philippines as of early July 9 and is forecast to turn north while maintaining very strong intensity, potentially making a direct pass over Okinawa’s Sakishima Islands from the night of July 10 into July 11.

Akie Abe Reflects on Husband’s Killing Four Years Later

Akie Abe, the wife of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has said she is only now becoming able to grieve honestly over her husband’s death, four years after he was shot and killed during an election campaign speech in Nara.

Shizuoka Approves Start of Maglev Construction After Nine-Year Dispute

A nine-year dispute over the Linear Chuo Shinkansen effectively came to an end on July 7 as Shizuoka Governor Yasutomo Suzuki told the prefectural assembly that he would allow Central Japan Railway to begin construction on the Shizuoka section of the project.

Japan Lowers Passport Fees to 7,000 yen

Japan lowered passport application fees from July 1, drawing large crowds to application counters such as the one in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district, although applicants are being warned that issuance could take as long as about one month.

Tokyo to Set Accommodation Tax at 3% From Next April

Tokyo will introduce a 3% accommodation tax on hotel and other lodging stays from April 2027, formally replacing its current flat-rate system and extending the levy to private lodging services.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Oil Crisis NEWS

Thinner Prices More Than Double as Naphtha Shock Eases but Costs Bite

Marutake Tosou, a painting company founded about 50 years ago in Nagoya’s Nishi Ward, handles exterior walls and other building projects. Its workshop is lined with cans of thinner, an essential material used for sanding products and diluting paint, but at the end of April the company was struggling to secure supplies.

Dental Clinics Face Higher Costs From Naphtha Shock

Dental clinics are facing higher costs for gloves, masks and other supplies made from naphtha-derived materials, even as shortages ease following renewed conflict in the Middle East that has disrupted naphtha supplies.

Crude Falls Toward Earlier Levels As Household Costs Keep Climbing

Crude oil prices have plunged to the low $70 range per barrel following the signing of a memorandum aimed at ending fighting between the United States and Iran, but while the immediate risk of an energy crisis appears to have eased, economists warn that price increases for electricity, food and everyday goods may still be about to intensify.

Japan Moves to Ease Thinner Shortage as Naphtha Shock Hits Builders

Japan will begin a new system on June 23 to sell paint and thinner directly from manufacturers to construction firms and other businesses, aiming to ease supply bottlenecks and curb price increases as worsening conditions in the Middle East make such materials harder to obtain.

Recycling Technology Takes On Naphtha Shortage

Japan's reliance on Middle Eastern crude oil has left manufacturers exposed to rising costs for plastic containers, ink and other products that use naphtha, but JEPLAN President Masaki Takao is pushing a recycling technology that could reduce the need for petroleum-derived raw materials by turning used plastic back into material close to new.

Middle East Tensions Hit Local Rice Balls

A rice ball chain based in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, is feeling the effects of turmoil in the Middle East through higher costs and supply shortages for packaging film and other materials essential to selling onigiri.

IEA Sees Oil Oversupply in 2027 if Iran War Ends

The global oil market could face a major supply surplus in 2027 if the United States and Iran maintain an agreement aimed at ending hostilities, the International Energy Agency said in its monthly report released on June 17.

Calbee's Black-and-White Potato Chips Reach Store Shelves

Calbee's potato chips in black-and-white packaging appeared on convenience store shelves in Tokyo on June 17, reflecting the company's response to concerns over the stability of printing ink supplies derived from naphtha as tensions in the Middle East disrupted procurement.

< 2 3 4 5 >