Kuwait's crude oil exports to Japan fell 18.8 percent in May from a year earlier to 6.31 million barrels, or 204,000 barrels per day (bpd), down for the second straight month, government data showed.
As Japan's fifth-biggest oil provider, Kuwait supplied 6.2 percent of the Asian nation's total crude imports, the Japanese Natural Resources and Energy Agency said in a preliminary report.
Japan's overall imports of crude oil slid 3.3 percent year-on-year to 3.27 million bpd for the third consecutive monthly decline. Shipments from the Middle East accounted for 83.0 percent of the total, unchanged from a year before.
Saudi Arabia remained Japan's No.1 oil supplier, with imports from the kingdom growing 6.2 percent from a year earlier to 1.09 million bpd, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 751,000 bpd, up 4.3 percent. Qatar ranked third with 352,000 bpd and Russia fourth with 254,000 bpd, respectively.
Japan is the world's third biggest oil consumer after the US and China.
Amid forecasts for declining oil demand, the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry outlined proposals on Monday aimed at reducing the country's crude refining capacity by up to 10 percent, or 400,000 bpd, from the current 3.95 million bpd capacity by March 2017.