The country’s LNG imports increased to 5.87 million tonnes last month compared to 5.15 million tonnes in March 2025.
LNG imports also rose compared to 5.82 million tonnes in the prior month.
Moreover, Japan’s coal imports for power generation rose in March compared to the same month last year.
The ministry’s data shows that coal imports were up by 2.2 percent to 8.49 million tonnes.
During the fiscal year April 2025-March 2026, the world’s second-largest importer of LNG took 65.24 million tonnes of LNG, down 1 percent year-on-year, the data shows.
LNG import bill climbs
The March LNG import bill, which was approxmately $3.25 billion, rose by 10.6 percent compared to the same month last year.
JOGMEC said in its preliminary report earlier this month that the average price of spot LNG cargoes for delivery to Japan contracted in March 2026 and scheduled to be delivered from the month onward (contract-based price) was $10.8/MMBtu.
Moreover, the average price of spot LNG cargoes that were delivered in Japan within the month of March 2026 regardless of the month when the contracts were made (arrival-based price) was not disclosed.
JOGMEC said the confirmed figures for February 2026 were not changed from the preliminary figures, with the contract-based price at $11/MMBtu and the arrival-based price at $10.4/MMBtu.
Last month, LNG prices and shipping rates skyrocketed after QatarEnergy halted LNG production on March 2 due to military attacks on its operating facilities in Ras Laffan. The company also declared force majueure to its buyers on March 4.
Japan Petroleum Exploration Co (Japex) recently said that it had purchased two spot LNG cargoes at “significantly” higher prices to substitute cargoes from the Middle East due to the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
LNG inventories
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) previously announced that Japan’s LNG inventories for power generation stood at 2.20 million tonnes on March 1, up from 2.01 million tonnes the previous week.
According to METI, LNG inventories stood at 2.12 million tonnes on March 8, 2.28 million tonnes on March 15, 2.38 million tonnes on March 22, 2.20 million tonnes on March 29, 2.22 million tonnes on April 5, 2.29 million tonnes on April 12, and 2.22 million tonnes on April 19.
Deliveries
As per LNG shipments to Japan in March, deliveries from Asia dropped by 2.8 percent year-on-year to 1.37 million tonnes, according to the ministry’s data.
Middle East LNG shipments decreased by 27.4 percent to 472,000 tonnes in March.
Moreover, shipments from Russia dropped by 27.3 percent to 465,000 tonnes, while US deliveries rose by 9.7 percent to 130,000 tonnes in March.
The data shows that Japan also took 145,000 tonnes from China. These are probably reloaded LNG volumes.
China, the world’s largest importer of LNG, reported a 19.2 percent year-on-year decrease in LNG imports in March this year.
During January-March, Chinese LNG terminals received 14.42 million tonnes of LNG.
This is 3.51 million tonnes less than Japan imported during the three-month period.
