Southeast Asia Just Switched to a Four-Day Work Week. 6.5 Billion People Have No Idea.

Thailand told its civil servants to take the stairs. Vietnam told its workers to stay home. Pakistan closed every school in the country for two weeks. The Philippines ordered a four-day work week. And Myanmar started rationing fuel for private cars.

All of this happened in the last ten days. Almost none of it made headlines outside Asia.

Albis's Global Attention Index flagged this story with a coverage breadth of just 1 out of 7 world regions. That means roughly 6.5 billion people — everyone outside Asia-Pacific — are largely blind to an energy emergency reshaping daily life for hundreds of millions.

A War 5,000 Miles Away Emptied the Gas Tanks

The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed for two weeks. About 20% of the world's oil and seaborne gas passed through it before Iran's Revolutionary Guards declared they wouldn't allow "one litre of oil" to leave the Middle East while US and Israeli strikes continue.

Asia took the hardest hit. The continent relied on the Middle East for 59% of its crude imports in 2025. Japan sources 90% of its oil from the region. South Korea, 70%.

But the wealthiest Asian economies have buffers. Japan's sitting on 350 million barrels in reserve and released 80 million — 45 days' worth — as part of the IEA's largest-ever stockpile release. China's been quietly receiving Iranian crude since the war broke out.

The countries without those buffers? They're improvising.

The Measures Nobody's Talking About

Thailand's energy reserves will last roughly 95 days at current consumption. So the government ordered civil servants to work from home, cranked air-conditioning thermostats to 27C, and told employees to wear short sleeves instead of suits. The commerce minister urged the public not to panic. Thailand's oil fuel fund is burning tens of millions of dollars daily to subsidize consumer prices.

Vietnam told businesses to "encourage work-from-home when possible." The government instructed citizens to ride bicycles, carpool, and "restrict personal vehicle use when unnecessary." It's considering scrapping tariffs on fuel imports entirely.

The Philippines went further: a mandatory four-day work week for government agencies. Officials can only travel for "essential functions." The country's civil service — hundreds of thousands of workers — lost a day.

Pakistan imposed the most dramatic package. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered a four-day week for all federal offices, shut schools for two weeks, moved universities online, and cut fuel allowances. Half of government employees now work from home.

Bangladesh closed every university in the country on March 9, bringing forward the Eid al-Fitr holiday as an emergency fuel-conservation measure.

Myanmar, already in civil war, started rationing fuel for private vehicles on March 7. The junta blamed "global political situations and armed conflicts in the Middle East."

Indonesia set aside 381.3 trillion rupiah — $22.5 billion — in energy subsidies to keep fuel and electricity affordable. It's also reviving plans for a 50% biodiesel blend to reduce crude dependence.

India's Kitchens Are Going Dark

India suspended LPG shipments to commercial operators to prioritize household cooking gas. The result: restaurants and hotels across the country warned of shutdowns. The National Restaurant Association said members were "staring at a shortage of 25 percent for the coming quarter."

Hot food is disappearing from menus. Hotels that depend on gas-fired kitchens are weighing temporary closures. India bought 30 million barrels of Russian crude after the US issued a sanctions waiver — but it's not enough to close the gap.

South Korea Caps Fuel Prices for the First Time in 30 Years

President Lee Jae Myung announced the country's first cap on domestic fuel prices since the 1990s. About 1.7 million barrels of Korea-bound oil per day has been held back by the conflict. Lee called it "a significant burden on the country's economy."

Japan's industry minister hasn't ruled out dipping into national oil reserves beyond the IEA release.

Why the World Isn't Watching

This story is covered extensively in Asian media. The Diplomat, Al Jazeera, Reuters, and regional outlets have all reported the measures in detail.

But in the US, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America? Near silence. The Iran war dominates coverage — airstrikes, naval movements, diplomatic maneuvering. The downstream economic devastation playing out across Asia barely registers.

Earlier today, Albis's Global Attention Index also flagged the Pentagon's $14 billion AI weapons budget as invisible to most of the world — read it here.

The pattern is consistent: the people causing the crisis get the coverage. The people absorbing the consequences don't.

What Happens Next

If the Strait of Hormuz stays closed, Thailand's 95-day buffer runs out in June. Pakistan's austerity measures are meant to last weeks, not months. Bangladesh can't keep universities closed indefinitely.

The IEA's 400-million-barrel emergency release buys time. How much depends on whether any ships can safely transit the strait — and right now, over 1,000 are still blocked.

The longer this lasts, the more these "temporary" measures become permanent features of daily life. And the longer the rest of the world goes without noticing what a war in the Middle East is actually doing to the people 5,000 miles away who had no say in starting it.