Corrects April crude oil import milestone in headline and paragraphs 1 and 3 to lowest since 1962, not 1967. Corrects paragraph 1 to say this was the lowest in more than 60 years, not nearly 60 years

By Kantaro Komiya and Siyi Liu

May 29 (Reuters) - Japan's crude oil imports in April fell nearly 66% from a year earlier, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said on Friday, hitting the lowest in more than 60 years as the U.S.-Iran conflict disrupted supplies from the Middle East.

The world's fifth-largest oil importer, which relies heavily on oil from the Middle East, imported 850,000 barrels per day (4.07 million kilolitres) of crude in April, METI data showed.

It was the smallest volume since November 1962, according to past data viewable on the National Diet Library's website.

Imports from the Middle East fell 68%, the data showed. The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran that began on February 28 has severely curtailed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for roughly a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supply.

Shipments from Japan's two largest suppliers - Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - dropped 60% or more, according to the data.

Several crude oil tankers have left the Gulf this month, although energy flows via the key waterway still remained far lower than pre-war levels.

Refiners in Japan and elsewhere in Asia deepened run cuts in April and May due to oil supply shortage.

Japan's domestic oil product sales last month fell 11.3% from a year earlier to 2.04 million bpd, the data showed.

Gasoline sales dropped 2.6% to 693,875 bpd, while kerosene sales were down 13.3% to 120,524 bpd. Sales of petrochemical feedstock naphtha fell 35.6% to 406,231 bpd.

The table below outlines Japan's product sales, imports and other statistics for April. Figures are converted to bpd from kl unless otherwise noted. Inventory volumes are in millions or barrels. Percentage changes are based on bpd.

Product/Volume	April	March	M/M (%)	Yr/Yr (%)
Crude Imports	853,329	2,107,288	-59.5	-65.7
Processed	2,184,993	2,257,944	-3.2	-13.7
Shipment	1,768	920	92.3	703.8
Oil Product Sales	2,042,789	2,287,377	-10.7	-11.3
gasoline	693,875	730,640	-5.0	-2.6
kerosene	120,524	250,772	-51.9	-13.3
naphtha	406,231	448,599	-9.4	-35.6
Product Imports	352,250	355,432	-0.9	-36.2
gasoline	92,028	61,405	49.9	73.1
kerosene	1,233	21,301	-94.2	-96.3
naphtha	231,311	240,870	-4.0	-43.7
Product Exports	286,979	497,727	-42.3	-31.3
gasoline	20,489	80,713	-74.6	-52.5
kerosene	-	-	-	-
jet fuel	132,043	138,251	-4.5	-15.3
gas oil	26,047	90,002	-71.1	-73.3
fuel oil B, C	105,842	178,818	-40.8	-6.8
Refinery Output	2,081,408	2,287,359	-9.0	-11.4
gasoline	650,506	707,652	-8.1	-10.9
kerosene	129,381	164,774	-21.5	2.7
naphtha	190,090	202,684	-6.2	-22.8
jet fuel	206,085	216,542	-4.8	-5.8
gas oil	568,584	551,916	3.0	-13.4

Month End Inventory	April	March	M/M (%)	Yr/Yr (%)
Crude	54.9	59.0	-6.9	-22.1
Products	52.1	49.9	4.3	-9.7
gasoline	11.4	10.2	11.1	2.6
kerosene	7.5	7.3	3.1	-23.2

To see Japan’s monthly refinery run rate, click on OPERATE-JP

The table below outlines Japan’s crude oil imports by country. Amounts are in kilolitres.

Country	April 2026	Share	M/M	Yr/Yr
Total	4,070,061	100.0	-60.8	-65.7
Middle East	3,563,405	87.6	-64.2	-68.0
Saudi Arabia	1,821,610	44.8	-66.3	-57.7
Arab-L	389,216	-	-	-
Arab-H	578,823	-	-	-
Arab-M	177,640	-	-	-
Arab-E-L	528,742	-	-	-
Arab-S-L	147,189	-	-	-
Qatar	20,606	0.5	-84.2	-97.5
A-Shahen	20,606	-	-	-
Oman	71,465	1.8	-9.7	-51.5
Oman	71,465	-	-	-
United Arab Emirates	1,649,724	40.5	-59.1	-69.4
Murban	1,456,383	-	-	-
U-Zakum	74,056	-	-	-
DAS	62,207	-	-	-
Umm-Lulu	57,078	-	-	-
South East Asia	79,527	2.0	-	67.0
Malaysia	31,755	0.8	-	-
Sepat	31,755	-	-	-
Brunei	47,772	1.2	-	0.3
Champion	47,772	-	-	-
North America	314,221	7.7	22.0	-32.6
United States of America	314,221	7.7	22.0	-32.6
Wtim	314,221	-	-	-
Central and South America	95,553	2.3	-2.5	-42.5
Ecuador	95,553	2.3	-2.5	-42.5
Napo	95,553	-	-	-
Oceania	17,355	0.4	-46.9	31.5
Australia	17,355	0.4	-46.9	31.5
Wandoo	17,355	-	-	-

(1 kilolitre = 6.2898 barrels)