Saudi Arabia and the UAE provided more than 80 percent of the total, according to data from the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Japan imported a total of 77.709 million barrels of oil in March and 75.031 million barrels (96.6 percent) came from five Arab Gulf Cooperation Council countries — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain — and from the neutral zone between the Kingdom and Kuwait.

Saudi Arabia provided 32.777 million barrels (42.2 percent of the total), the UAE 29.797 million (38.8 percent), Kuwait 6.559 million (8.4 percent), and Qatar 4.845 million (6.2 percent). Less than 1 million barrels came from the neutral zone and Oman.

The US and Southeast Asia also contributed to Japan’s oil imports but the figures in March showed an absence of any importation from Russia.

Japanese companies have also continued to boycott Iranian oil as the country complies with sanctions imposed by the US on Iran.

The figures represent the quantities of oil that reached refineries, tanks and warehouses in ports in Japan during March. Japan generates about a third of its energy from oil.