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The country’s LNG imports rose to 4.71 million tonnes last month compared to approximately 4.44 million tonnes in June 2025.
LNG imports also rose compared to 3.96 million tonnes in May and 4.26 million tonnes in April.
Moreover, Japan’s coal imports for power generation rose in June compared to the same month last year.
The ministry’s data shows that coal imports were up by 18.5 percent to 7.14 million tonnes.
LNG import bill
The June LNG import bill, which was approximately $2.66 billion, rose by 14.7 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 June 2026 and scheduled to be delivered from the month onward (contract-based price) was not disclosed.
Moreover, the average price of spot LNG cargoes that were delivered in Japan within June 2026 regardless of the month when the contracts were made (arrival-based price) was 17.1/MMBtu.
JOGMEC said confirmed figures for May 2026 were not changed from the preliminary figures, with the contract-based price not disclosed, while the arrival-based price was at $18.1/MMBtu.
LNG prices remain high due to the ongoing Middle East crisis and the disruption of Qatari LNG shipments via 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 1.80 million tonnes on June 7, down from 1.90 million tonnes the previous week.
According to METI, LNG inventories stood at 2.03 million tonnes on June 14, 2.10 million tonnes on June 21, 2 million tonnes on June 28, 2.34 million tonnes on July 5, and 2.42 million tonnes on July 12.
Deliveries
As per LNG shipments to Japan in June, deliveries from Asia rose by 10.3 percent year-on-year to 1.06 million tonnes, according to the ministry’s data.
Middle East LNG shipments dipped by 64.6 percent to 126,000 tonnes in June due to the conflict.
Moreover, shipments from Russia increased by 52 percent to 382,000 tonnes, while US deliveries rose by 50.3 percent to 410,000 tonnes in June.
China, which was the world’s largest importer of LNG in 2025, reported a 5.6 decrease in its LMNG imports during the first six months of this year.
LNG terminals in China took 28.35 million tonnes of LNG during January-June
During the same period, Japanese LNG terminals received 30.88 million tonnes of LNG, down 3.9 percent year-on-year.
Japan overtook China as the largest LNG importer during the first half of this year, by importing approximately 2.53 million tonnes of LNG more during the six-month period.
