*Japan’s crude and condensate imports rose by 9.7% to 2.73mn b/d for 2022, a three-year high but 1mn b/d below levels seen early last decade (see chart 1 & table for full data). Japan’s long-term decline in oil demand has seen it overtaken since 2020 by South Korea as the world’s number four crude importer: China, the USA and India are the top three (see chart 2).