Japan's evolving cocktail of crude oil purchases underscores the extent of the changes underway among top energy importers.
Until the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran triggered a sharp drop in tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the world's fifth-largest oil buyer sourced over 90% of its crude from Middle Eastern suppliers.
Countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran have historically had supplies that were available in large and reliable volumes and were deliverable to Japan's main coastal refineries via a relatively straightforward 21-day voyage.
Since the conflict disrupted Gulf exports in late February, outbound crude flows from the Middle East have dropped drastically, with total volumes shipped from March through July 40% lower than a year earlier, according to Kpler.
That steep fall in Gulf oil supplies has forced Japan to secure more crude from alternative suppliers, most notably from North America.
Total Japanese crude oil imports from the U.S. from March through June topped 4.5 million metric tons, compared with less than 1 million tons during the same period in 2025.
That more than 400% year-over-year jump in American supplies allowed Japanese importers to offset a 54% fall in shipments from the Middle East and limited the overall decline in Japan's crude supplies over the same period.
However, the switch to U.S. crude comes at a cost, with the journey time nearly nine days longer, driving sharply higher shipping costs and requiring a different delivery schedule for refiners to manage.
South Korea and India — also among the world's five largest oil importers — have revamped their crude origination patterns, dialling up flows from the Americas and Africa as Middle Eastern volumes dwindled.
China, the world's top crude oil buyer, has so far relied heavily on strategic oil reserves to shield itself from the fallout from the Iran conflict.
However, following that lengthy spell of drawdowns, Chinese importers are expected to step up crude import interest again and will likely add to the emerging competition for supplies from the Americas and other regions later in 2026.
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