Recent official data issued by the Natural Resources and Energy Agency of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) showed that Saudi oil occupied the throne of crude supplies to Japan during the month of April 2026, occupying the largest share at 44.8 percent of total imports.
According to official data, recent official data issued by the Natural Resources and Energy Agency of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) showed that Saudi oil occupied the throne of crude supplies to Japan during the month of April 2026, occupying the largest share at 44.8 percent of total imports.
According to official data, the Kingdom’s total supplies to Japan amounted to about 11.47 million barrels (equivalent to 1.82 million kiloliters), at a time when regional supplies faced a noticeable decline as a result of the actual closure of the Strait of Hormuz and military operations in the region.
The Arab countries strengthened their absolute exports to Japan’s protectionist energy structure, as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, and Qatar together provided about 87.6 percent of Tokyo’s oil needs.
The United Arab Emirates came in second place with a share of 40.5 percent (about 10.39 million barrels), followed by the Sultanate of Oman with 1.8 percent, then Qatar with 0.5 percent. On the other hand, the data recorded an exceptional and unusual absence of Kuwaiti oil, of which the ministry did not record any imports during the same month.
At the global level, despite the sharp decline in total Japanese imports to their lowest monthly levels since 1962 due to the repercussions of the Iran War, Tokyo resorted to diversifying its sources. The United States increased its share to cover 7.7 percent of Japanese imports, followed by alternative markets that included Ecuador by 2.3 percent, and Brunei by 1.2 percent, coinciding with heavy reliance on withdrawal from national strategic reserves to meet domestic demand.
