Japan imported 62.54 million barrels of oil in June, of which the Arab share was 96.3 percent or 60.26 million barrels, according to figures released by the Agency of Natural Resources and Energy of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE dominated Japan’s imports. The Saudi contribution was 25.82 million barrels, representing 41.3 percent of the total, while the UAE supplied almost the same percentage with 25.84 million barrels.
Five Arab countries – the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman – as well as the Neutral Zone, made up most of the imports, underscoring the strategic importance of these nations in Japan’s energy security.
Kuwait contributed 5.21 million barrels (8.3 percent), followed by Qatar at 2.44 million barrels (3.9 percent). Oman supplied about half a million barrels or 0.8 percent of the total imports while the Neutral Zone’s share amounted to 0.7 percent.
With Japan continuing its ban on importing oil from Iran and Russia in June, the rest of the country’s oil imports were sourced from the United States (1.4 percent), Central and South America (1.6 percent), Southeast Asia (0.5 percent) and Oceania (0.2 percent).