Japan increased its dependence on imports of energy products following the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
This accident occurred on March 11, 2011, following a magnitude 9.0 earthquake followed by a devastating tsunami.
With a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $4.2 trillion in 2023, Japan has a highly advanced and diversified economy.
External purchases of natural gas and oil
Largely due to the effects of the 2011 earthquake, imports of oil and natural gas as alternatives to nuclear power increased significantly as demand for power generation at thermal power plants increased.
On March 11, 2011, just as the Japanese economy was transitioning from a state of stagnation to recovery, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck Japan.
Japan has historically relied on oil for most of its energy needs and almost all of its oil is imported, mainly from the Middle East.
These are Japan’s crude oil imports in recent years, in millions of dollars, according to data from Japan’s Ministry of Finance:
- 2019: 73,085.
- 2020: 43,510.
- 2021: 63,139.
- 2022: 101,652.
- 2023: 81,091.
Imports of energy products
Crude oil is the main product imported by Japan.
Therefore, oil price movements have a major impact on the domestic economy.
Although the price of oil declined significantly shortly after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, below ¥20,000 per kiloliter in May 2020, it has risen steadily since then as the global economy has gradually recovered from the impact of Covid-19.
Recently, the oil price has risen sharply and remained high at ¥86,543 per kiloliter in June 2024, partly due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the resulting disruption in oil supply.
War in Ukraine
Japan is a major importer of energy products globally, as the country has limited natural resources.
As one of its challenges, the global economy has recently been affected by Russia’s large-scale military activity against Ukraine that started in February 2022.
The following are Japanese imports of liquefied natural gas, in millions of dollars:
- 2019: 39,948.
- 2020: 30,140.
- 2021: 38,991.
- 2022: 64,120.
- 2023: 46,529.